

















.:;'• ! 



STORY 



MORLEY. 






?ST3R 



* 



11 



8» 



\*t f 



• .. . . s . 











Class -n A^Q 
Rnnk MR &•>, 




H.Adlard 



t^Tt-^s ^^ 





^e^^^-y-. 



THE HISTORY OF M OR LEY, 



IN THE WEST l:ri»l\<: 01 VORKSHIRE 



INCLUDING A PARTICULAR ICC01 \| OF [TS OLD CHAPEL 



XO KIM SOX s< IATOH ERD 



'■ And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers : ana there arose anothei iteration afte 

that knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which he had done for [srael." 

Jo in \ Ji 

'The Republican party in Ei. gland dates its origin from the early campaigns of the i nil \\ ;ir. and did Dot be 
come wholly extinct till the Revolution in L688; but as a party, having an Important Influence In public 
their extinction may be referred to the time of the Restoration; their indication! ol life afterwards, were feeble 
and fitful, like the final flashes and struggles <>f an expiring flame. 



SECO \ D !•: Dl T CO \ 



MORLE1 
S. STEAD, PRINTER B1 STEAM POWER, "OBSERVER OR COMMERCIA1 11:111 

J ! i 



s".: ; ".: /."":"•:! :"":"*: • 



1 3~7 Co^ 



■^ 






DEDICATION TO MY FAMILY 



My dear Children, 

There is no delusion more common amongst men than the supposition that the 
events of past times, or such as themselves have witnessed, will be of little m< ment to 
their descendants, nor is there any delusion more provoking; for, it* there be one thing 
about which a more than ordinary curiosity is generally felt, it is respecting onr 
ancestors, and especially such of them as have cut a conspicuous figure in the mosl 
interesting period of* our annals. Judge, then, of my regret at being left in the dark as 
to innumerable circumstances which onr forefathers might have communicated, without 

or trouble to themselves, and which would have enabled me to present you with a 
well-connected narrative. Had the particulars alluded to transpired in an age of litera- 
ture, like the present, when periodical Works of every kind arc abundant, much of 
what is lost to me might have been recovered; but, falling out otherwise, it happens 
that I can dedicate to you little more than a few scraps of our village history. 

The great er'.*or of the seventeenth century alas ! has been that of succeeding time.-. 
The men of those days appear to have attached far more importance to matters of 
cpinion, of speculation, and of fancy, than to matters of fact. Instead of communi- 
cating to us those particulars respecting their forefathers, themselves, their neighbours, 
and the state of society within their townships which would have been perused by 
future generations, they have left us little more than their thoughts upon polemical 
Bubjects, or metaphysical dissertations of some other kind. These remarks you will gee 
illustrated, in part, in the present Work, and the Writings of the Old Pastors of Biorley. 
They seem to have fancied that their theology — their classical quotations— their church 
histories or sermons, would be read by posterity, and perhaps admired; and it does QOl 
appear to have occurred to them that this posterity would be competent to reason. t<» 
admonish, or to compile, quite as well, if not better than themselves. How mortifying " 
Had they only given us a few papers upon the Civil War — the share that their neigh 
boms had in this memorable contest— the events which they witnessed nay, even the 
village g<>s>ip and prattle of the times, it would not have sunk into oblivion, <>i 
mouldered upon dusty shelves like their controversial divinity. 

Let us not judge, however, too harshly of our forefathers. Their delusion Menu 

ingrafted on human nature.— The press still groans under its load of the- 
romances, poetry, politics, and other speculative, hortatory, fanciful, or disputations 
matter of every kind.— and from what the Booksellers tell me. I infer that the public 



IV. 



appetite has the least relish for historical, antiquarian, or philosophical realities. My 
only comment on this is, that as to yourselves at least, 1 hope you will sometime 
appreciate the value of conjecture as opposed to evidence — of fictions to facts — of the 
illusions of fancy to the dictates of reason— of bewildering fallacies to instructive 
truths— between that which displays the craft and device of man, and that which bears 
the impress of the Deity. 

For the public indifference to topographical books, some apology beyond what is con- 
tained in my \ reface may be offered. They arc not made (to use an expression more 
intelligible than elegant) -readable'' books— they seldom contain much original matter — 
there are no links to connect the different passages, so that the whole is like patchwork 
— the curiosities of literature arc seldom illustrated — the cold and lifeless impersonal 
form of address is invariably adhered to; but the worst of all is, that their authors (as 
in other works) frequently clothe their thoughts in a quaint or affected — a circumlocutory, 
metaphysical, or inflated phraseology. 

•■ Histories.'" we are told by the great Lord Bacon, " make men wise." This is more 
than can be said of some studies which, when carried too far, operate only to make men 
stupid, conceited, and pedantic — to exclude philosophy — to stifle eloquence, and 
obstruct science. On the contrary, a knowledge of history, especially of our own 
country, enlarges and enriches the mind beyond what is commonly believed, and is 
indispensably necessary to every Gentleman. But history, to be read with profit, should 
be read with sound discretion, for the far greatest part of that which is so called, is 
mere romance, or something worse. 

Jt is your good fortune, my children, to be born in a very different period, as respects 
education, from what I have been. Look even at the Juvenile Libraries, at the 
Children's Books which arc now seen, and compare them with such as existed only 
forty years ago, when talcs chiefly of giants, fairies, robbers, or magicians, were 
invented for the amusement of youth. Think on the pains which arc now taken to 
disseminate useful knowledge amongst the middle and lower classes of the communitv, 
and the facilities with which, under an improved mode of instruction, they may acquire 
it : and then reflect upon our old Grammar Schools, about which I will leave you some 
curious memoirs. No doubt you will wonder at the support given to such establish- 
ments, as I used to do at the preference given by our Kings of the seventeenth century, 
to the Catholic religion. A little knowledge will dispel the mystery in both instances, 
;md discover to you how much knavery may often lie found lurking under specious 
appearances. 

To return again to the subject of my Book, you will find it, as 1 hope, both instructive 
and amusing. Possessed of information and means of information respecting these parts 
beyond, perhaps, any other person; having, from my childhood, been inquisitive as 
respecting antiquities, and having leisure for the gratification not only of myself but my 

posterity; whal could 1 devise, as a present, more acceptable than this History? 
What subjeel could J have chosen so likely to interest our children's children, as an 
accounl of their forefathers ' 



Such as my Book is, to you my children, as objects of my chief regard, I dedicate it, 
in the hope that it may induce you to peruse my authorities. Should you thus acquire 
a taste like mine, happy indeed will it be for yourselves, and great my reward — you will 
then be often keeping- the best company — you will hold converse with the dead as well 
as the living - — you will gather from the experience of ages — you will have associates 
whom you can take up or discard without ceremony or trouble — who will draw you into 
few embarrassments, and but very little expense. 

Through the medium of this my Book then, I would introduce you to my noiseless, 
unobstrusivc, harmless, and diverting companions; and in doing so, remember, I give 
you one assurance, which is, that the more you cultivate their acquaintance, and the less 
you depend for pleasure upon your fellow mortals, the more likely you will be to 
escape troubles which are common to people who have no resources within iherr< 

That it may please Him who is the disposer of all events and who governs futurity, 
to lead you into all useful, all important truth and knowledge — that as you advance in 
stature, you may grow in true wisdom and in his favour, is the earnest prayer of 

Your affectionate Parent. 



THE AUTHOR. 



P RE K AC E- 



Tin: History ol the Old Chapel, al Morley, 
standsso intimately connected with the times 
of the Commonwealth of England — the Earl 
of Sussex, its Patron in 1650, was so dis- 
tinguished a character, and some of the per- 
sons to whom he conveyed the Chapel 
property, in trust, were so famous in our 
neighbourhood, thai M would be unpardonable 
in me to present the public with a superficial 
and uncircumstantial narrative. I must, how- 
ever, do so if not allowed the introduction of 
such matter as will be found in the first Forty- 
six pages of my Work; without which. 
indeed, in my own estimation, it would be of 
little value. Were this part omitted, what 
could a person know about our Chapel Lease? 
how it was obtained? what was the con- 
nexion between the Lessor and Lessees? 
what were their principles and views? and 
what occasioned the events which are sub- 
sequently disclosed. 

Aspiring to the honour of having my Book 

read by various classes, and not regarded as 
a mere Topographical Work, to be taken up 
like a dictionary. 1 have endeavoured to make 
it connected and entertaining. .My topo- 
graphical materials, it must be owned, are 
defective; but were they ever so ample it 
would little suit my own taste, or the reader's 
perhaps, to have the volume filled with matter 
of so dry and unedifying a nature. 

I have jusl said that my materials are 

defective — bul if the reader should deem that 
kind of mallei- appropriate with which com- 
piler form I heir ponderous volumes, they arc 
then abundant ami easily obtained ; and. 
should I ever !><• reduced to ask charity or 
solicit subscriptions, ;i new edition of my 
Book may ap{>ear upon i he modem plan ; 
that is lo say, by way <>|' hail, (here shall he 
an ensnaring iiil<- |>age and capital engraving 
— line paper and type — margins so com- 
modious, that in some pages scarce ten lines 



shall appear, and iii none twenty — veiy cor- 
rect pedigrees, (of course) aboul a- entertain- 
in-' as those of •• Flying Childers," and 
■•Eclipse.'* or the celebrated bull, ••Comet '" 
— long extracts from registers, of births, 
baptisms, and burials — copies of inscriptions 
on gravestones and communion plate — : 
accounts of paupers and village affairs — of 
subscribers to charities, and eveiy-day con- 
cerns; with a copious Index to the whole. 

To tell my mind of topographical hooks in 
the general, (candidly speaking) nine out ol 
ten of them remind me of the razors sold t<» 
the countryman, by the London sharper, as 
humourously described by Peter Pindar: — 

'• Friend, quoth the razor man, I'm not a knave— 

" As for the razors that you've bought, 

" Upon my soul I never thought 

"' That they would shave. 

"Not think they'd shave, quoth Hodge, with 

wond'ring eyes 
" And voice, not much unlike an Indian yell ; 
" What were they nw.de for then, you rogue, he 

cries ? 
" ; Made ' quoth the fellow with a smile, ' to selV 

Considered in any view 1 have no reason to 
be ashamed of this production ol my leisure 
hours. It is "made" neither for the purpose 
of selling, or of shaving — of pilfering from 
the pocket of any one, or of appropriating to 
myself his literary plumes. Should its edge 
appear loo keen in certain parts, it is truth 
alone and matter of fact which makes it so. 

By people who arc unacquainted with local 
circumstances, and I he source's from which 
pari of my information is derived, it may. al 
lirsi sight, be thought singular thai I should 
make mention of Cromwell and (he Common- 
wealth limes so particularly, as will hereafter 
he seen ; hul their wonder will cease upon a 
perusal of this Book throughout. The share 
which our old townsmen had in the battles of 
the Civil War — the distinction which, in 
common with their neighbours, I hey gained 
i herefrom — their bravery, their patriotism, 



\ II 



l.iii above all, their devotion to Cromwell, 
connects him most closely with this History, 
and (in my opinion at least) redounds to their 
immortal honour. So apology need, there- 
fore, be expected from me for an introduction 
which is in m only deemed necessary bul 
ornamental to my Book. 

My object, in short, in writing' this Book, 
was to furnish information which will be 
interesting and necessary to most of my 
readers, and to compress it within the 
shortest compass. In pursuance of my plan. 
1 have in the first forty-six pages, introduced 
that matter which 1 deem important for the 
healing which it has upon the whole Work. 
To those who know little or nothing about 
our National History. I fear it will be rather 
discouraging; but to such persons 1 do not 
address myself. My Book is for "bookish" 
people, or such as are likely to become so; 
but especially, for my family and neighbours 
who may wish to know something of the 
principles of their forefathers. 

But while I am desirous to afford the 
reader every information in my power, I am 
quite unconcerned about his opinions. I lay 
before him facts and authorities, curiosities in 
literature, illustrations, reasonings, and proofs; 
bul uol the twentieth part of what 1 could 
tell him upon some subjects. As to opinions, 
i he reader is perfectly welcome to his own. 
especially if honestly acquired, and founded 
on knowledge; and all 1 ask of him is a 
lorresponding sentiment. 



A.s to Mi.- jtyle of this Work u inai be 
sufficient in observe, thai it ap|>ears to me to 
be thai which is mosi ju licions. \\f 
naturally more attentive to thai which is 
addressed fo us. than t i thai which reaches 
us as mere unpointed observation; and heno 
the impersonal form of address must be alwa\ - 
less forcible, if nol less clear than is the per- 
sonal. 

1 conclude these remarks by an extracl 
from a Work of uncommon beauty, a^ the 
last sentence is peculiarly appropriate \<> 
myself, in m\ family residence. •• Let no 
man.*' Bays the author, "despise the oi*acles 

of hooks. A hook" is a dead man — a BOl1 ol 

mummy, enibowelled, and embalmed, hut that 
once had flesh, and motion, ami a boundless 
variety of determinations, and of actions. I 

am glad I can. even upon these terms, con- 
verse with the dead, with the wise and the 
g I of revolving centuries. Without books 

1 should know little of the volume of nature — 
I should pass the scanty years of my exist- 
ence ;i mere novice. The life of a -nigle 
man is too short to enable him to penetrate 
beyond i he surface of things. The furniture 
of my shelf constitutes an elaborate and in- 
valuable commentary, bul the objects beyond 
my windows, ami tlie circles ami communities 
of my contemporaries, an the text to which 
(hat commentary relates." 



Fleetwood bj ( -«"i\\ In 



MORLEY. 



The curiosity entertained by the lover of 
antiquities, of inquiring into the origin of 
ancient and celebrated Structures, commonly 
excites a regrei that the accounts of them 
which have been left to posterity should be 
so meagre and insufficient. Through the 
apathy of our forefathers, and indifference* 
orignorance of our early writers. Hie history 
of many most interesting places is now for 
ever buried in an impenetrable obscurity. 
Amongst the number of these is the ancient 
Church or Chapel, at Morley — a Chanel which 
having' been in the hands of Papists, Protest- 
ants, and protestant Dissenters, and. under 
some form or other, a place of worship from 
the aera of the Saxon Heptarchy down to the 
I -resent period, may well engage the notice and 
amuse the fancy of the learned and inquisitive, 
while it can scarcely fail to be esteemed by 
those whose ancestry have frequented it for 
many generations. Impressed by sentiments 
like these, and as one member of a family 
which, for two hundred years at least; has 
resided in the neighbourhood, I am desirous 
of paying to its ruins a passing tribute of 
respect. Put 1 feel the stronger stimulus to 
do this by reason that its history stands con- 
nected with events of great general and local 
interest. And. therefore it is that, although 
labouring under disadvantages as an Antiquary, 
1 still hope to make my book entertaining, 
which is, truly, the great object of my ambi- 
tion. 

In Domesday I5<»'k the Saxon Church at 
Morley is thus noticed : — 

•• In Moreleia habuit Dunstan VI. Car 

terra' ad Geld, et Y 1 . Car pOSSUnl ibi esse 

qui [Ibertus habuil ^'^\ weisl est. Ibi est 
Ecclesia.] Silva past, l leug. long el l late, 
T.R.E. Val. xl. Sol." In Morley, Dunstan 

For ill u tration ot this, let any one peruse the history of 
tershire, by Burton, and other works composed by men 
who po lessed abundant matter for the gratification of pos- 
terity, and suffered it to <lie with them. And then let him 
\ lew the contrast In such men us Drake, the historian of fork, 
and a few more of modern time . 
I The tirst notice of any Village cliureh, after Domesday, 
in the Saxon Chronicle, Inno L087. Thej are there 
caUed " Upland Churches Translated Eccleslw rural! 



held six can*ucates of land, subject to taxes; 

and other six camicates may be there which 
[Iberl held, bul it is waste. There is a 
Church — a native wood, one mile long and 
one broad — in the time of King Edward, 
valued at forty shillings. 

The hide was the measure of land in 
Edward the Confessor's days. The carru- 
cate, that to which it was reduced by the 
Conqueror s new standard, and twelve of these 
made one hide. A carrucate of land con- 
tained about 100 acres; eight oxgangs made 
a carrucate, and every oxgang contained 
twelve or thirteen acres, or thereabouts. 
Though the carrucate, however, is laid down 
at 100 acres, it must needs have been various 
according to the nature of the soil and the 
custom of husbandly in each country. The 
word comes from the Latin word caruca, in 
French, carrue, a plough ; and signifies as 
much land as one team could well manage to 
plough in the year. 

Dunstan having, therefore, at least, six 
hundred acres of land, in Morley, and llbert. 
about other six hundred, in waste; and there 
being a wood of about a mile in length and 
breadth, or 640 acres of forest, we are enabled 
to compare the present, with what was. near 
800 years ago, considered the extent of the 
Township; and taking the above, not as 
admeasurement, but a very rude estimate as 
to wood and waste, we find it, by some 
means, considerably enlarged: l\>\\ we have 
now about 2, GOO acres within the Township, 
including our new Enclosures and waste. 

The other passage in Domesday relating 
to Morley, to be seen in Mr. Bawdwen's 
translation under the head of " Claims of the 
West- Riding," is thus rendered — 

••According to the Verdict of the Men of 
Morelege (Morley) Wapentake, concerning 

the Church of St. .Mary, which is in Morley 
Wood, the King has a Moiety of the three 
Festivals of St. Mary's, which belongs to 
Wakefield. [Iberl and the Priests who serve 
the Church have all the rest." 



■iBi 




It may, well enough, be supposed, inde- 
pendently of what is here stated, that at the 
time of the General Survey under William 
"the Conqueror," this part of the country 
presented one general aspect of wood and 
waste, as did by far the greatest part of the 
whole Island for a century or twoj after his 
" Usurpation ;" but, fortunately, we have 
disclosed to us some far more important par- 
ticulars, namely, — That there was, even in 
the reign of Edward the Confessor, a Church 
here — that it was dedicated to the Mother of 
Christ, and called " St. Mary's,"— that, Ilbert 
or Hildebert (one of the celebrated family of 
the De Lacies) was chief Lord over this dis- 
trict, under the Norman, — that the alms, 
oblations, or offerings belonging to this 
Church were considerable, and were enjoyed 
in moieties — one half by the King, as seized 
of the advowson of the Church of Wakefield ; 
and the other moiety, by his feodal Baron 
and the Romish Priests who here officiated — 
from all which circumstances, and from the 
Town having given its name to the Wapen- 
take, we may be sure, that Morley, though 
now a poor manufacturing village, was, in 
early times, a place of considerable conse- 
quence. 

This inference, indeed, receives ample con- 
firmation from what is mentioned by Dr. 
Whitaker, in page 5 of his Ducatus Leodien- 
sis, who states, " That, in the year 1322, a 
large division of the Scottish army, which 
spread devastation and havoc wherever they 
came, wintered at Morley, and threw the 
inhabitants of Leeds into such a panic, that 
they buried their treasures ; some of which, 
being the coins of that period, were found in 
the early part of the last century." It ap- 
pears also, from the defence of Henry de 
Abberford, a Prior of Nostel, as will be related 
in a following page, that Morley had to sup- 
port an army of Scots, for fifteen days, some 
years before the rebellion of the Duke of 
Lancaster, and that the Priory suffered much 
in its revenues, by reason of the Scots remain- 
ing for the same period, at Birstal, Roth well, 
and Baumberg. And, it may be here just- 
noted, incidentally, that from Morley being 
mentioned in connection with these places, 
the revenues of whose Churches certainly 
belonged to St. Oswald's, it is evident thai 

\ This, no doubt, gave rise to Church Spires or Steeples, 
the only sure guides by day, as the Lantern Towers were by 
night. See Dugdale's Warwickshire, &c. Nichols's Leicester- 
shire, vol. 3, p. 144. 



some profits, arising from its Chapelry, per- 
tained to that Priory in the fourteenth century . 
It would rje difficult to believe thai bo cele- 
brated a Church as that of St. Mary's, and 
one so rich in offerings, should have flourished 
hero without an adequate number of parish- 
ioners; and. certainly, not less bo, to fanci 
what else but its fine woods could have 
induced the Scots to settle at Morley, during 
a whole winter; for, as to its situation, it is 
lofty, and cold, and bu1 about half a mile 
from one of the highest ridges in the county. 
It seems, therefore, extremely probable that, 
until \\iv reign of Edward the Second, the 
population and opulence of tins place was 
upon the advance; and. my conjecture is, 
that from the breaking up of their winter 
quarters by this Scottish army, when, most 
likely,* the Town and its Church were des- 
troyed, we are to date the period of its 
decline. 

I am led to this surmise by two circum- 
stances. The firsl is, that upon many wall- 
stones hereabouts, I have discovered evident 
marks of fire; and. especially, on some which 
have probably belonged to the Church or 
Chapel of Edward the Second's reign. The 
next is. because we know that about 1818, 
Yorkshire, in particular, Buffered from the 
incursions of the Scots most dreadfully: for, 

then it was that Stripton and Scarbro' were 
set on fire, and Northallerton and Borough- 
bridge were burnt, by those cruel Invaders. 
But, to return to our extracts — 

Whoever is unacquainted with the character 
of Dunstan, and may be desirous of learning 
more respecting him, will be amused by 
perusing- our best histories of the Anglo- 
Saxons. Suffice it here to observe that, 
according- to the accounts, he was an Abbot 
of Glastonbury, and one who held the highest 
offices in Church and State. A Monk who. 
under the garb of sanctity, concealed a mind 
elevated by ambition and ecclesiastical pride. 
while he betrayed a temper insolent, violent, 
and ungovernable.*! Living in an age of the 
grossest ignorance and superstition, this 

• In 1322 the Scots laid waste nil thfl I. .whs ami Villages 
from Carlisle to York, elarkson s EUehmond, p. 34. 

t One of the Monkish writers, however, Hym him another 
character, which 1 transcribe at second hand. " Krat ita 
Natural] pnedltOI Ingenio, ut facile (juani libel rem acutissimo 

Intelligent, ftrminlme retineret, el quean li aliii artllma nag 
oiflce polleret, mniioam tamen hihtJbU auadam affeettoM 
yendlcabat, dent Darld Pealterluin nunena, ( Ithetaaa, percu- 

tiens, moiiuians Organa, Cintbela tangent Pnsteree Hano 

aptUI ad omnia, face re DOtoU I'icuiiaiii. litterai furm.ire 
ICalpello iniprimere ex auro, argento, MN et fetTO " 



10 



ferocious ruffian had the lurk to pass for so holy 
a man BU9 to obtain the reputation of a Saint, 
and to be canonized, as such, after his death. 
Even yet, his name appears upon the British 
Calendar, while that of some men4 who have 
deserved the gratitude of their country, is held 
up to ignominy in that of Tyburn. 

Respecting Hbert, the first of the De Lacies 
noticed in our Annals, I can give the reader 
but little information, as very little has been 
recorded respecting him. He was. however. 
a gentleman of good family, of Norman ex- 
tract, and one who came to England in the 
train of the Conqueror.^" For his services he 
was, about the- year 1072, created Lord of 
Pontefract and Baron of Blackburnshire, 
which, long after this period, was a several 
shire, or province, of itself. This family, 
by various intermarriages amougst the chief 
Nobility in the land, became soon of chief 
rank and consequence. We read of them as 
being the Founders of three several religious 
Houses at Nostel, Pontefract, and Kirkstall ; 
as becoming Earls of Lincoln — as possessing 
twenty-five towns in the Wapentake of 
Morley, and the greater part of 150 Manors 
in the West Riding of Yorkshire. 

My last comment upon the foregoing ex- 
tracts, should now turn upon the Church of 
St. Mary, but it will be doing the subject 
more justice, to state the opinion of a very 
learned Author, as to its high antiquity. 

"In the Manor of Wakefield with its 
Berewicks," says Dr. Whitaker, "there were 
two Churches and three Priests. The Churches 
may, without the slightest hesitation, be 
assigned to Wakefield and Sandal ; and, as 
we know that a Chapel, at Horbury, existed 
within 50 years of this time ; and, as Chapels 
are never mentioned in Domesday, the pre- 
sumption is, that the third Priest ministered 
at that place. I am further persuaded that 
though the Church, at Wakefield, was in ex- 
istence in the Conqueror's reign, it was not 
one of the original Saxon Churches, of which, 
in the Hundred of Morley, there were only 
two; namely, Morley itself the Hundred 

! I allude especially to such men as Kugene Aram and Dr. 
I>odd ; in regard to the former of whom I am supported by 
the Historian Smollett. From inv very childhood, 1 have 
delighted in prying into the life of this wonderful Scholar, and 
the particulars of his case. My gleanings will be left to my 

family. Suiiiee it to observe, it is far from certain that he 
was so criminal as is believed. 

1 See a very scarce and curious hook entitled. " The Blazon 
of Centrie, Itc., compiled by John Fearne, gentleman, I'm the 
instruction of all Gentlemen Hearers of Irmes, whom, and 
none other, this book OOncerneth, att London, printed for John 
Wlndet, for Toby Cooke, 1686." [tprofi illy to 

treat of "the Lacies Nohilitie " 



Church, and Dewsbury, the known Parent of 
four later parishes in this hundred, besides 
three in A.gbridge. The following quotation 
from Domesday will not only prove this posi- 
ii iii that, Wakefield belongs not to the first 
class of Saxon Churches; but, also, that (at 
whatever period) it was taken out of the 
original parish of Morley." 

" Bed Verediee hmnum de Morelege Wap. 

de Ecclia See Mariae que e in Silva Morlege 

Rex hr dim elemos de iii Festis See Marie 
i 

q d ptinet ad Wachefeld Reliquum h r Ilbert & 

Presbi qui Eeclie inserv r ." 

" This curious passage," says the Dr., 
'• proves, that, at the separation of the Parish 
of Wakefield from Morley, a moiety of the 
oblations were separated with it. The other 
moiety remained to Ilbert de Lacy, the chief 
lord, and to the Priests who performed the 
duties of the Church. This division of the 
offerings appears to have been common in the 
later Saxon times, at the foundation of new 
parishes ; and it is precisely paralleled in the 
first endowment of the church of Blackburn, 
w r ith the fourth-part of the tithes and offer- 
ings antecedently due to the Mother Church 
of Whalley." 

If a Thane erected on his own bocland (i.e. 
freehold or charter-land) a Church — having a 
cemetery or place of burial, he was allowed 
to subtract one- third part of his tithes from 
the Mother Church, and to bestow upon them 
his own clerk. After this separation, there- 
fore, of Wakefield from Morley, and, more 
especially, the subtraction of his tithes by 
that Lacy who founded and made Batley the 
Church of this Parish,* as hereafter will be 
related, it is evident the tithes, offerings, and 
oblations of the Mother Church, at Morley, 
reduced to a Chapelry, would be compara- 
tively trifling. 

It cannot well be expected that I should 
be able to give the reader any account of our 
Church in its infant state, or of the changes 

To encourage the erection of Churches, in early times, 
upon the Domains of the Lords of Manors, it seems they had 
held out to them, by way of temptation, the Commission from 
the Ordinary, of the right of patronage and the privilege of 
annexing, In perpetuity, all tithes and oblations accruing 
within weir own demesnes, to the service of each particular 
Church. To these, it appears, therefore, they added a portion 
of land or glebe, as absolutely necessary to the accommoda- 
tion of an incumbent, at a time when almost all the wants of 
life must have been supplied from the produce of the earth: 
Whitaker', Whalley, p. 33. 



11 



which took place in its appearance, during 
the dark ages.f when it is considered, that in 
compiling the histories of our ecclesiastical 
structures, the most learned and indefatigable 
Inquirers are ever bewildered in a labyrinth of 
doubt and uncertainty, till they arrive at thai 
sera when the light of science and literature 
broke in upon the world, by the invention of 
printing. To the man who would investigate 
and impart such matters as transpired, when 
all the nations of Europe were slumbering in 
superstition, the scanty detail of a poor Monk, 
confined to the dungeon of his cloister, and 
collecting his news, perchance, from the hear- 
say tales of pilgrims, pedlars, or palmers, is like 
the light of a glow-worm upon a winter's nighl . 
which serves only to make the surrounding 
darkness still more striking. Sad, indeed, 
were the ages in which our earliest chroniclers 
existed, and well may they account for the 
fabulous legends and trilling incidents which 
their works contain. The studies of these 
men — their taste — their habits — the rigid 
rules of the monastic orders — the turbulent 
state of the times — the want of posts — of 
traverseable roads — of police — of instruction 
from the press — all contributed to disqualify 
them for the task of authorship. Yet, who 
does not regret, deeply, that so many of their 
manuscripts should have perished, as doubt- 
less happened on the suppression of Ihe 
monasteries? For, who can tell what lights 
they would not have thrown upon our national 
historyj and antiquities? And, amongst 
other curious particulars, what valuable hints 
they might not have supplied for a history of 
of Morley, and of its celebrated Mother 
Church — "the Church of St. Mary's in the 
Wood?" 

The absence of positive informal ion can 
only, in cases like the present, be supplied by 
probable conjecture. To me, it seems likely 
that some pari of the chancel, or East-end of 
the present fabrick, was a part of the church 
destroyed by conflagration, as before sug- 
gested; lstly, because of the materials- 
being, in fact, mere cobble stones, which 
have never been coursed, or even tooled with 
the pick-axe. — 2ndly, because of the corbels 
or projections of stone on which the rafter 
roof is placed. — 3rdly, because of a projecting 
stone of singular form within the building — 
evidently a Catholic remain, and intended, as 

1 How little La known about our ancienl < liurcbes, the 
Volumes of the Gentleman's Magazine may discover. 

! Sec fuller's Church History, 1$. \i. i>. :;:;i ; or, Nic) 
Leicestershire., vol. 6. part 1, page 308, note 5, 



I believe, to hold a crucifix. And. ithly, 
because that very ancient silver pennies were 
once found in these walls — a fad often 
related l»y persons of respectability, lately 

deceased. 

About seventy - the workmen 

employed by John Dawson, Esq., of Morley, 

were making some alterations in a seal of 
his. in this chancel, they discovered tin- floe 
of an old chimney in the East wall, and, on 
removing some stones, a few coins, said to 
have been of Edward the Confessor, were 

found. Some of these were presented to the 
then minister, the Rev. Thomas .Morgan, by 
Mr. Dawson. Unfortunately. Air. Morgan 
was robbed of them, much in the same waj 
as poor Thoresby, the historian, was of his 
"fine Caligula" by a "pretended Gentleman 
of curiosity," who came express from Leeds 
to see these treasures, and made them his 
own, by borrowing the coins and returning, 
in the stead of them, a few pennies of much 
inferior ag'e, value, and rarity. 

Yet. although this chancel is. apparently, 
(as to some pari of if) of higher antiquity than 
even Edward 2nd\s reign, we may he' quite 
sure that it neverformed a part of the original 
Church of St. Mary,|| With much more pro- 
bability may il he conjectured to have been 

pari of a Church erected upon the site of that 

edifice, by one of the he Lacies, aboul the 

beginning of the twelfth century; and, judg- 
ing of them from what our old historians 
relate. I should, certainly, give the honour of 
it to Robert, the Son of illicit, before-men- 
tioned ; for he it was xv | ln founded the Priory 
of St. Oswald, at Nostel ; and attached to it 
the revenues of the former Church at Batley ; 

and he il was who reduced the Church, at 
Morley, to a Chapelry, dependant on Batley. 
in the reign of Benry 1st. 

The \-.\;^ for building Churches, and found- 
ing and endowing Monasteries, was, indeed, 
peculiarly prevalent dining the twelfth and 

thirteenth centuries, and few appear to have 
! the means and inclination of this 
Robert : who also founded the Priory of 
Pontefractl — greatly contributed to its Hospi- 
tal of St. Nicholas — and added QlUch to the 
strength and beauty of it- Castle. 

i.iy Book, ' mj - Mr. Brooke, 
•• that many i f our Chi • even in tl 

d 1056 and 1065 . an. I. no doubt, everal of thorn 
for though 
the Saxons wore, in general, timber bnildinga 
time, namely in the eleventh century, man/ wen nu 

s'.one." Irchsol, vol •. | 
1 Stowe'a Annals, p, 150 



12 



Apart, however, From matter of dispute, it 
may well be assumed thai Moriey, having its 
Church reduced in the twelfth century, and 
being plundered and wasted in the fourteenth, 

would SOOD dwindle away, by the dispersion 
of its natives, from an improving and popu- 
lous town to an obscure hamlet. But here a 
natural and interesting question arises — 
namely, how it has come to pass that so few 
vestiges of its ancient greatness appear at 
this day? The answer to which leads me 
to a short dissertation, addressed, more 
especially, to my younger readers. 

To begin then, at the beginning — the dwel- 
lings of the ancient Britons appear to have 
consisted of little more than the trunks and 
boughs of trees, fenced andentertwined within 
their spacious forests. - They knew nothing," 
says Caesar, " of building with stone, but 
called that a town which had a thick en- 
tangled wood defended with a ditch and bank 
about it ; and to which," he adds, " they flee, 
to escape the invasions of their enemies." 
" Which stands them in good stead," says 
Strabo, "for when they have, by felling of 
trees, mounted and fenced therewith a spacious 
round plot of ground, there they build for 
themselves houses and cottages; and for their 
cattle, set up stalls and folds, but those for 
the present use only, and not for long con- 
tinuance." — Diodorus Siculus adds, that their 
dwellings were thatched with reeds — their 
cities without walls, and the country without 
towns.* 

The Saxons also (without even the excep- 
tion of Churches) appear to have built entirely 
with wood, and occasionally, perhaps, to have 
resided in caves Formed by the hand of Nature 
or of man. It certainly appears very singular 
that, when multitudes of people of both 
nations must often have been summoned to 
rear blocks of stone for monumental, religious, 
or other purposes, they should so little have 
regarded them as conducive to comfort and 
security in their domestic dwellings. 

After the Conquesl our native forests re- 
maining, with little diminution, the use of 
wood iii the construction of houses continued 
to be general. f The fust departure from this 
practice appears, however, to have been at a 
very early period, when, probably, more for 
-iifet v and defence, than for ease and elegance, 



Speed 8tow< Inn <i . in. 1 !8. Bibliotheca Topo- 
graphic*, \«.l. 8, p. LOG 

i The etymology "f many places called " Woodhouseham," 
must, therefore, be m itated in a subsequent page. 



the families or dependants in chief of our 
Nobility, began to case the wooden house 
with stone, and sometimes to crest it with 
an embattled j front. The finest specimens 
of these buildings, which 1 have seen or read 
of, have no dates by which their age may be 
determined, so that we can only conclude 
they were elected in turbulent or barbarous 
times; but it does not fall in my way to write 
on such buildings as these, and still less on 
the castle, castlet, or tower — there bsing no 
record or vestige of any in this immediate 
vicinity which, it is probable, was never 
graced with anything beyond the ancient, 
ordinary, vi Hall House," and the next class 
of dwellings below them, — of which we have 
the fewest specimens throughout the land. 

The Mansion-houses of country Gentlemen, 
in the days of Shakspeare, we find rapidly 
improving, externally, and within. During 
the reigns of Henry the 8th, and of Mary 
even, they were, if we except their size, little 
better than cottages — being thatched build- 
ings covered on the outside with the coarsest 
clay, and lighted only by lattices. When 
Hollinshed wrote, though the greater number 
of Manor Houses remained framed of timber, 
yet he tells us " Such as be lately builded are 
commonly of bricke or harde stone, or both — 
their Rooms large and comely, and Houses of 
Office further distant from their Lodgings." 
— The old Timber Mansions too, were now- 
covered with the finest plaister. — " Of olde 
tyme," continues he, " our Country Houses, 
in steede of Glasse, did use much lattis, and 
that made either of wicker or of fine riftes of 
Oak, in cheker wise. I reade also, that some 
of the better sorte, in and before the tymes 
of the Saxons, did make Panels of Home in 
steede of Glasse, and fixe them in woodden 
Oalmes; but as Home is quite laid downe in 
vvevy place, so our lattices are grown into 
lesse use, because Glasse is come to be 
plentiful. "S 

To return more immediately to our subject 
— In the first aeraof our domestic architecture 
the Houses, undoubtedly, consisted of mud 
and clay, and wattles, and the roofs of thatch. 
To these, succeeded Houses of wood and 
plaister, and this appears to have been the 
mode of building, in ordinary, until about the 
reign of Henry 8th, or || Elizabeth; when, 

| An instance of this is found as early as 1230— the fifteenth 
year of Henry M, who grants to Kobert Tatcshall. a license 
•'Quod possit kcinellare Mansum suuin." Rot. Pat. 16, H. 
;;, in. 2. 

§ Cap. 10 p. 86.— Edition of 1577. I! Stowe's Annals, p. 100G. 



from the decay of our native woods, they 
were succeeded by another order of dwellings 
constructed with the stone gotten in the 
immediate vicinity. It strikes me, however, 
that perhaps it would be more correct to place 
between the two, another class of buildings, 
in which we perceive the old wood and plaister 
House erected upon a low basement of stone, 
the principals springing from a wall plate of 
oak, and not from the ground, as in the first 
specimens; and which, therefore, present us 
with a frame of wood-work, originally de- 
pendant upon walls, and of later construction 
than the others. Both classes, however, it 
may be observed, have been cased with stone, 
and this circumstance, while it has assimilated 
and confounded them in the eyes of common 
observers, has perhaps led our antiquaries into 
an error as to the age of the older class. 

Of such materials as these, even the better 
smt of Houses in our villages consisted, down 
to the beginning of the seventeenth century. 
As to the Cottages, little need be said — Tiny 
appear to have been single apartments without 
chambers — open to their thatched roofs — and 
supported upon crooks — without chimneys — 
without pavement — low. confined, dark, and 
comfortless. In fact, even the better sort of 
Farm-houses down to this period, with their 
narrow windows — little diamond panes of 
glass — low ceilings and curtainless bedsteads, 
afford us but a melancholy picture of our 
wealthier tradesmen, down to the times of 
the "Commonwealth of England." 

The reader, I persuade myself, will, there- 
fore, agree with me hi opinion, that a town 
or village, so constructed, must have been 
very convenient for a good bonfire whenever 
wasted by a cruel enemy; and that, even if 
a few buildings should escape such ravages, 
they would, at least, perish by the ravage of 
a few centuries. But it is not only to account 
for present appearances that 1 have introduced 
the subject of our ancient domestic Architec- 
ture in this place, but in order to give the 
reader a few hints preparatory to my com- 
ments on the Old Chapel. 

But, wholly independent of these prelimi- 
naries, nothing can be more fallacious than 
to judge of places, great in ancient times. 
from what can be discovered now. The very 
sites of Babylon and Troy are questionable; 
and as to Ephesus. a greater change can 
scarcely be conceived, than thai which this 
famed city has undergone. — Once the seat of 
active commerce, the very sea has shrunk 



from it> solitary shores. — Its streets, once 
populous with the devotees of Diana, arc now 
ploughed over by the Ottoman Serf, or browsed 
by the sheep of the peasant. — It was, early, 
the stronghold of Christianity, and stood at 
the head of the apostolic churches of Asia. — 
It was there that St. Luke says 4 "the Word 
of God mightily grew and prevailed." — Not 
a single Christian now dwells within it ! Its 
mouldering arches and dilapidated walls 
whisper merely the tale of its former glory; 
and it requires the acumen of the Geographer, 
and the active scrutiny of the exploring 
Traveller, to form a probable conjecture as to 
the site of the " first Wonder of the WorM." 
Nothing remains unaltered, but the "eternal 

Hills," and the Mazy Cayster, the streams of 

which still roll on changeless and the same.f 
Where too. we may ask, are the vestiges 
which denote the former greatness of many 

principal places in our own Island, of Roman 
or Saxon fabric — liibchester — Aldboro' — Old 
Sarum — Halbam, — and many others} too 
numerous to be mentioned? But. to return 
again to our subject. — 

At whatever period it wa*> built, one thing 
seems very evident and is confirmed by tradi- 
tion, — namely, that the greater part of what 
now constitutes the nave or body of the pre- 
sent Chapel was formerly the tithe-barn || of 
the Lord of the .Manor. Whoever doubts of 
this will be satisfied, by comparing its form, 
dimensions, and pillars with tln»v.>, for in- 
stance, of the tithe-barn, at Birstai, not to 
mention many other such appendages to our 
ancient Churches and Manor-houses. The 
pillars have, however, been built in the walls, 
or stood iii the frame of the structure in this 

instance, in which it appears to have some- 
what differed from the barn at Birstai. 
Whether it was an old barn of lath and 

plaister or formed of such stones a- are -ecu 
in buildings of this kind I cannot determine; 
but. when the low state of agriculture down 
t" tiie cud of the seventeenth century is con- 
sidered, we may be sure it was large enough 
tor the tithe produce "i the very few I 

holders then living hereabout-; and. after- 
wards, when these tithe- began to be com- 
pounded for. it would he Uflel 
There seem- every reason for believing thai 

of the \p"aies, cli. 10, v. •_'<• 
t '• Let-ten from the i . 

! Notcnl- . , ItlimiccsUr, Ar in M"\\c - \niul 

w e in n. • in. . ol .t Bath or l.nitli riven for .» < hurch in 
r-ulv times, and thence called " Lailhkirk. " W|iiUkcr» 

RionmondBhlre, p, 14ft 



1 1 



tho first change in the appearance of this barn, 
whatever it was, took place about the times 
of James or Charles the Lst, and that it was 
then § converted into a place of worship. But 
its greatest improvement, we may reasonably 
conclude, happened under the Commonwealth 
of England, partly from the times, but, prin- 
cipally, from our first Trust Deed. At all 
events, it was then a Chapel, as the ancient 
scrolls upon its walls, with their inscriptions, 
go nearly to prove; besides which, this Trust 
Deed, executed in L 650, .expressly mentions 
"the Chapel." which could have been none 
other than this building. The chancel of the 
old demolished Church had evidently been 
converted into a school, if not a dwelling, 
and was an integral structure, as I think, 
down to the sera of the Revolution in 1G88. 
In fact 1 know it was the village school in 
16(33, and that the master was either a once 
celebrated Republican officer (Capt. Thomas 
Oates) or one of his sons — Ralph", or Samuel 
— the former of whom had taken the degree 
of Master of Arts, in one of the Universities. 
But, under what form the Chapel presented 
itself in 1GG3 it is now impossible to deter- 
mine. 1[ 

Before I proceed further in my account of 
the Chapel 1 must here (as the most appro- 
priate place) be allowed to touch upon a sub- 
ject of more importance, and which will 
interest my friends in a greater degree; I 
mean the description of Clergymen or Ministers 
who officiated at Morley when our forefathers 
were first truly emancipated from the thral- 
dom of superstition ; and it is peculiarly for- 
tunate that 1 should have discovered a book 
which illustrates it in some degree. It is 
true, 1 am now straying from my first sub- 
ject, but every man has his own way of 
telling a story, and my object being, to 
present circumstances in their proper order of 
time. I shall pursue this course, as most con- 
venient to the writer, if not perspicuous to 
the reader. 

The title of the bonk |o which 1 allude is 
as follows. — " Totum hominis, or the whole 
duty of a Christian, consisting of Faith and a 
good life, by the late Rev. and worthy Mr. 
Samuel Wales, Minister of the Gospel al 
Morley, 1(127."— It is dedicated -Mo Philip 
Lord Warton," and the second edition now 



f My subsequent remark i upon the walls their Inscriptions 

h rolls, and other things \\ ii 1 he\* this. 

•. [.am. neverthi I that LI would greatly resemble 

Denton Chapel. See the Gentleman' Magazine for L700, 
p. 085. 



before me, was printed in 1681, by Lord 
Wharton and Sir Thomas Wharton, his 

brother, --for the benefit of. and with a pre- 
fatory Epistle to then- children and grand- 
children." From the whole content- of this 
little duodecimo volume, it is manifest that 
Mr. Wales was one of those persons who 
were called •• Puritans" — that he was a good 
scholar — a zealous minister — and a vehement 
declaimer against Popery and Antinomianism. 
It might be tedious to some, Avere I to give 
many extracts from his writings, but there 
are two passages which so strikingly exhibit 
the descriptions of Ministers popular at 
Morley, in the early part of the seventeenth 
century, that it would be blameable to pass 
them over in silence. 

Speaking of "the needs which the best of 
men have of helps towards a better life," Mr. 
A Vales proceeds thus — " First then," says he, 
"by way of application, we see the folly of 
k - them discovered and checked who cry down 
" all means as being of little or no use to them 
" who are in Christ. I know the man's name 
b - who compared one coined to Christ to a man 
"that, having finished his house, lays aside 
" his tools. How. I pray you, (judge in your- 
" selves) can those men who deny that 
i# Scriptures are either guide or rule to a true 
" Christian — who maintain that Ministers 
" ought not to urge or call for repentance, 
"mortification, and holy walking; who dis- 
'* like repetition of sermons — judge family 
" prayer a thing indifferent — dare travel on 
" the Lord's Day without scruple — rest con- 
" tented with a reading Minister — cast away 
"all books but the bible, and say plainly. 
"commentaries do but mislead men — that 
"treatises directing to a godly life will mar 
"Christians. — How, 1 say. can these think 
"that means and duties are needful? And 
"doth any man think that by arguments 
"drawn out of the Word 1 should oppose 
" this New divinity ? Shall 1 spend time in 
••shewing how this opinion fights with the 
"experience of David and Daniel — both of 
'•them, though Prophets, most precise 
"observers of holy duties and exercises, and 
••one of them bitterly lamenting the neglect 
•• of public means?" 

entleman, I am persuaded, was brother to the Rev. 
Elkanah Wales, a Presbyterian minister, of Pudsey ; of. whom 
ar account may be found in Or. Calamy's Memorial, vol. 2, p. 
: .rv with these, and (for the honor of our 
\ illage) born at Morley, in L6Q0, was the Rev. Edwd. Eteyner, 
M. \. of Cambridge. \n abstract of whoso life, in the same 
volume, p. 1 19, I recommend to the perusal of my townsmen. 
It is evident, to me, that the Ministers of their principles 
and times, were quite as much opposed to the heresies of 
Antinomianism as to the superstitions of Popery, 



lo 



Iii another place, and speaking upon 
another topic, Mr. Wales proceeds thus: — 
"Whence is it," says he, "that sometimes 
"we have known mockers and professed 
"enemies of God's servants — (Puritans, men 
"call them now a days) — in cold blood, or in 
" the evil day. desire their prayers — wish to 
11 die their death, and commit to their hands 
••the most important business 

It is not because I judge these the best 
passages! in the Sermons before me that they 
are here transcribed ; albeit my opinion cer- 
tainly is, that in preaching', the colloquial 
style is far more persuasive, if not animated, 
than any other ; and far more likely to win 
its way with an auditoiy, if accompanied 
with the address and energy which is requisite, 
especially in a Minister of religion. My 
object is, mainly, to exhibit a specimen of the 
preachers at our Chapel, from the reign of 
James to that of Charles the 1st ; — for as the 
people in our clothing districts were most 
attached to Ministers of this description ; and 
they were, manifestly, most encouraged by 
by the Lords Wharton, Savile, Fairfax, and 
other good, as well as great, men long before 
and after the accession of Charles the 1st, it 
may be fairly assumed that such as was Mr. 
Wales, in point of sentiment, such also were 
his immediate predecessors here, and, cer- 
tainly, his successors. They were what the 
Papists and Semi-Papists of the reigns of 
Elizabeth, James, and Charles, affected to 
sneer at under the appellation of "Puritan" 
— a name, however, to which they were well 
entitled from the piety and morality of their 
lives, the more scriptural tenor of their 
doctrines, and the conscientious motives fr< >m 
which these tenets were inculcated. 

But from the foregoing passage we come 
also to another inference, and which is fur- 
ther supported by the history of the Puritans ; 
namely, that these excellent men, though 
ministers of the Protestant establishment, 
either wholly or for some time wore, nol 
" reading" — but, " preaching " ministers ; 
and as their sermons were generally ex- 

t One passage in this volume is so curious, that I cannot 
help extracting it,— " Whence is it," says Mr. Wales, "that 
we hear men complain of their houses beiiifj infested with evil 
spirits? (All such things are not fables and illusions, though 
many be.) There is No Prayer in their houses ! ! !" 

As many able and excellent men besides the great Dr. 
Johnson (the believer in the Cock lane ghost) and the cele- 
brated John Wesley, have given up their understandings on 
the subject of preternatural appcarancee and noises, this 
opinion may be pardoned. But who can forbear a smile at 
the answer to the above query? What would John have 
thought of it? and how would he have looked, had tin- n 
In his father's house been accounted for as above stated / 



temporaneous, or delivered from short notes,j 
or else? memoriter: so also wen- their devo- 
tions when they were left t" the impulses 
their best feelings, and were doI fettered by 
the formularies of the New establishiru 

Lastly, 1 suspect from the words " New 
divinity,*' that it was not the Papists only, 
but partly the Churchmen, only half-converted 
from the Romish superstitions, and ; artly 
the Antinomians or high Calvinists, who 
were thus censured by this Puritan, as deny- 
ing the sufficiency of the Scriptures — the 
absolute necessity of repentance and holiness 
of life, and the right of private judgment and 
free inquiry. And I cannot help observing 
that for Morley to have such a pious and 
enlightened ministry as was here in an age 
of superstition, ignorance, and tyranny, con- 
fers upon it a stamp of far greater dignity 
than could ever be affixed to it by St. Dunstan 
and his Priests, or by Henry Tudor § and his 
Reformers. 

But the mention of the word " Puritans" 
and that too by Mr. Wales, who, as I have 
before said, was evidently a minister of this 
class, induces me more particularly to advert 
to the character and some of the tenets of 
our old ministers — the guides and companions 
of our patriotic forefathers. 

The Puritans became first conspicuous in 
the reign of Elizabeth, or about the year 
1658.* It has been generally thought that 
they were protected, if nol secretly encou- 
raged, by Cecil, Walsingham, Leicester, and 

Other great statesmen Of those times. These 
Puritans — (to their immortal honour be it 

ever remembered ) — were the first men who, 

as a party, had the coinage and the virtue 
to propagate the principles of Civil and Reli- 
gious Liberty — for the age in which they 
Lived I hey were the " Salt of the Earth," and 

though their zeal was chiefly directed against 
Papal forms and ceremonies, vestments, and 

images, yet they merit the admiration of 
posterity for effecting the most material 
breach that ever was made into the artfully 
cemented fabric of the Romish church, and 

t This appears to have been the practice "f WyoUffa -><?« 
Life by Vaughan, vol. 2, p. 28. 

§ " Until tlic time of Lather, religion, which la principle li 
a pun ii aw art; it was the occupation 

of the clergy, who taught it oi " mystery, tad practise l U 
i [one'i M\ teriee, Pref. p 9: 

"Wherever the ipolson, "them are 

bad intention timent which deserves the mo«t pro- 

found consideration. 

Perhaps i little earlier. a> M uy drove many pious mau 

out of the kingdom. Bee the Gentleman's M.igsiine for i7ws. 
p in snd i Note following, p 24 



16 



a-i having sown those good seeds in the field 
of civil government which came to maturity 
under the Commonwealth of England. It is, 

in fact, from the rise of the Puritans, (and 
not from the dark and lawless period absurdly 
called "the Reformation,") thai we observe 
the dawning of a light to which Wycliffe and 
Lutherf were but " the morning stars." — so 
that, if we take our stand at this sera, we 
Look back to the age of uncorrupted Chris- 
tianity, as over a vast and gloomy desert 
upon which not a shrub appears to improve 
the view of the lovely mountains and fertile 
fields beyond it. 

To display, however, more clearly, the 
justice of my encomiums upon these vener- 
able men, and illustrate what I have hereto- 
fore proposed, as well as to vindicate the 
remarks which will appear hereafter, I shall 
endeavour to sketch, with studied brevity, the 
general state of religion in former times — 
merely premising that although this has no 
connection with the topographical part of my 
history, yet it falls, quite as much as that, 
within the scope of my plan. In no book, 
that I know of, is the same matter condensed 
within the short compass of a page or two, 
and in none more, than in this publication, is 
it likely to be read by those for whose instruc- 
tion and amusement I am most concerned. 

No fact is more generally known than that 
until the early part of the sixteenth century 
the Romish superstition was the religion 
u established bylaw" in this country, as it 
still is in some countries upon the Continent ; 
and how calamitous this was for the nation, 
may be perceived in almost every page of 
our history. Yet, notwithstanding the arro- 
gant pretensions — the frauds, — the violence, 
rapacity, and cruelties of this national church 
— and although from its pagan habits, cere- 
monies, and festivals, its complete dissimili- 
tude to the church of Christ might well have 
been discovered ; yet it encountered no 
material opposition^: till the time of our 

t See much respecting these 1'uritans in Strype's Life of 
Bishop Ayltner, p. 108, 9, 10, 11, 12, 10, and 20. They appear 
to have been favoured by other nobles, such as Henry, Earl of 
Huntington, so early as lf>84. See a curious fact disclosed in 
Nichols's Leicestershire, vol. 3, part 2, p. 580, note 5. 

X Excepting only from the learned and admirable Bishop 
(Jrosteste (Grostete) Greathead, whose superior mind strove in 
vain to break through the fogs of Popery in the darkest 
■••son. Mw. Paris calls him " Domini l'ap;t> et Regis Kedar- 
gutor - -Manefestus l'relatorum (Jorreptor Monachorum Cor- 
rector 1'resbyterorum Director — Clcricorum Instructor — 
Scholarium Sustentator- I'opuli pnwlicator— incontinent um 
Persecutor - Scripturarum sedulus I'erscrutator diversarum 
Komanorum Mallajus et Contemptor." What a fine character ! 
Allow me, reader, to present you with a female, oompa&ion, 
portrait — 



countryman — Wycliffe. This enlightened 
and intrepid champion was the first who 
immortalized himself by his attack upon it; 
and although, for above a century afterwards, 
little elfeci appeared to have been produced 
by his preaching or his writings, yet they led 
to important results at last — for, by putting 
the minds of men in motion, by stirring up a 
spirit of inquiry and debate, he prepared the 
way for a reformation. 

The doctrines advanced by Wycliffe, and 
by which he assailed " the strong man keep- 
ing his palace" — " armed" with ecclesiasti- 
cal laws, and intrenched within the battle- 
ment of "established" prejudices, were not 
confined to a bold denial of the supremacy of 
St. Peter— the infallibility of the Pope — the 
authority of the Romish church — the merit 
of monastic vows, or the senseless fiction of 
the real presence, but embraced also many of 
those points for which the Puritans of the 
seventeenth century contended valiantly; 
such as the proper constitution of a Christian 
church, and the sufficiency of Scripture, both 
as a rule of faith and discipline. What, 
however, ought most to excite our surprise 
and admiration is, that he also taught the 
dependency of the Church upon the State, 
and the necessity of its being reformed by 
the State — that the clergy should possess no 
estates in respect of their office — that the 
whole " trade of war" was utterly unlawful — 
that the numerous ceremonies of the Church 
were hurtful to true piety — and that to tie 
down ministers and people to written forms 
of prayer was a wrongful restraint upon 
Christian liberty. — This man was a Dissenter 
indeed !§ 

It is very natural to imagine, as the event 
proves, that the " established" clergy would 
be much alarmed and incensed at such doc- 
trines as these; and that, as they were unable 
to put them down by argument or an appeal 
to Scripture, they would resort to the " ultima 
ratio clericorum" — the sword of the civil 
magistrate. Unhappily the reigning monarch, 
however uninstructed in some respects, was 

Walsingham, writing of Eleanor, wife of Edward 1st, says, 
" The king lamented her loss as long as he lived, ordaining 
perpetual masses and alms for her soul, in divers parts of the 
kingdom— for she was a woman of great piety, moderation, 
and tenderness- fond oftheEnglish, and, as it were, the pillar 
of the realm. In her time, foreigners did not pester England, 
— nor were the subjects oppressed by the king's officers, if the 
least complaint came, by any means, to her ears. She admin- 
istered comfort to the distressed every where as her rank 
enabled her, and reconciled to the best of her power, all who 
were at variance," p. f>4. 

§ See Life of Wycliffe, by Vaughan, vol. 2, p. 99, 309, Sic. 
Neale's History. &c. 



17 



not yet so inexperienced as to be ignorant of 
the fact that such an established Church is a 
must convenient ally and. powerful auxiliary 
to an established despotism, and that an ex- 
asperated clergy are a body of men, of all 
others, the most dangerous. — Of course it 
followed that the disciples of Wycliffe were 
generally silenced, and some of them effectu- 
ally so, by being converted to ashes at the 
stake. 

It is scarcely necessary to dwell for one 
moment upon the period called ••the Refor- 
mation," since, until the time of Elizabeth, it 
continued much the same that it had done for 
ages; the only reformation being the transfer 
of the supremacy of this "established" Church 
from a ridiculous Pretender at Rome, to a 
sanguinary Tyrant in England. It could 
scarcely be credited, were not the fact indis- 
putable, that the people of England should 
have endured, and much less have acknow- 
ledged as head of the church of Christ, a 
bloody and unrelenting monster who, while 
he was debauching* and murdering innocent 
and lovely women, and consigning to the 
flames and scaffold the most excellent among 
men, could sit down coolly to prescribe articles 
of religious faith, and menace with ruin, withf 
torments and death, whoever should presume 
to question the infallibility of his opinions. 

The Prince who succeeded this despot was. 
considering the age. an excellent youth, but 
his reign was too short to be of much service 
to his subjects. lie caused, however, a liturgy 
or service-book to be prepared for the church, 
which although a mere compilation from the 
mass-book of Rome, was yet some improve- 
ment upon the old established forms. Had 
be lived longer more might have been done, 
but he was cut off in the bloom of youth 
under some circumstances of suspicion. 

hi thai short but eventful period — the reign 
of Mary — religion appears to have undergone 
an almost total eclipse in this island; while 
superstition performed its most fearful trage- 
dies, involving in proscription, massacre, and 
torment, whoever had the misfortune to excite 
its rage.J 

In this hour oi" darkness, however, a glim- 
mering light was seen in ;t dislant country. 

There can be no doubt that the " Defendei ol the Faith 
debauched Mary, the eldi Inne Boleyn, and after 

wards kept her as his concubine. See i.lli Second 

Series, vol. 2, p. i;;. 

♦ The ruck was often used in the reigns of Henrj 3th and 
Hary. Anne Askew was racked alter her condemnation. 
Ellis's Letters, Second Series, vol, 2, p 130, I7fl 



The petty differences of some English re- 
fugees in Germany, respecting the use of king 
Edward's liturgy, occasioned a separation 

between them, which made way for the dis- 
tinction between Protestants and Conformists. 

But to the reign of Elizabeth it was reserved 
for the Puritans to attempt the introduction of 
a purer form of worship and discipline than 
had been thenjbofore devised. Hitherto the 
objection to the established religion had been 
confined to its popish relicks or ceremonies — 
to images in churches — to its pagan vest- 
ments "i- habits — masst — and other absurdi- 
ties; but under this Queen they began to 
contend for a form of church government to 
be framed on the apostolic model. In opposi- 
tion to the court reformers, these Puritans 
now denied the supremacy of lite Sovereign in 
religious matters — they affirmed that the 
Pope was Antichrist, and that the Roniish 
was not a Christian church. Indeed, gene- 
rally speaking, they maintained the distin- 
guishing tenets oi the venerable Wycliffe, 
which the others rejected. 

Thus was the nation divided into three 
I arties in religious controversy — the first, 
comprehending i he old Cat hoiia — the second, 
the Catholic Reformers, called " Protestants," 

but differing little from the first, except upon 
the slender point of ecclesiastical supremacy 
— and, lastly, the Puritans — the only real 
Reformers of those days.§ 

But although the Puritans loudly protested 
against the Protestant Church as i<> its go- 
vernment — its liturgy — festivals and rites, 
there appears to have been no dispute, b 
yet. between them and the "Conformists" 

upon doctrinal Subjects J and it 18, therefore. 

t •• Atheism." says the great Lord Bacon, " Leaves a man to 
souse- to philosophy to natural pletj t" laws to reputa 
ti.'n aU which may be guides to an outward moral virtue, 
though religion wore not: but superstition dismount 

these, and erectetfa an absolute monarchy in tin- hearts of 

men. ' What a line thought, ami what a just observation Is 
tiii- : 
? What the general sentiment respecting tin- first Puritan 
em itrikingl] Illustrated in the instance of theCoventrj 
petition bo Elisabeth for leave to act their old plays and 
their old pastimes, especiallj "Hock Tide Plaj ' 
thing," said the cit rounded in story, ami f..> 

time was wont to be played in our city, yearly, without ill 
example of manners, papistry, or anj superstition; and we 
know not wherefore It oath been laid down unless It has 
been by the zeal of certain Preachera men ■■ y commendable 
for their behaviour and learning, ami tweet in (A 
hut somewhat too sour in preaching an ij 
Nichol Pi 
Another gem which i have diacovt red In i 

follows : " i;,.Yi, M, \ , ,,,,.,, |,,,.,, . | 

o-.-i sermon done thej -mi',', all in common, a | dm 

in metro a- it seems now was frenuentlj «i Uh 

being brought In by thonc exile*." Who, thai has any portion 

• •i ■ i •• ..i i n ■ * hi refc • ip'- thanks for mi, .'i, [j 

\ | nil •.••! ! : 



18 



probable, thai had aol tlio latter been in- 
flexibly obstinate in clinging to forms and 
ceremonies allowed, even by themselves, to 
be indifferenl ; and. what was worse, had 
they nut attempted to force these things, by 
law, upon their more conscientious brethren, 
the greal separation of these two parties 
would have fallen out upon a period much 
later than it did. 

Be this as it may. it is certain that during 
the time of Elizabeth, practical, or genuine, 
religion was little more prevalent than it had 
been under all the former reigns. To assemble 
even for religious worship without a license 
from the crown, the bishops, or archbishops, 
was made highly penal. The clergy, in 
general, were lazy, ignorant, and immoral, 
able to do little more than read prayers and 
homilies. In the villages the people were 
almost universally Papists, and as barbarous 
as heathens. If any person amongst the 
clergy or laity was somewhat pious and 
moral, hostile to Popery or prpfaneness, he 
was sure to be branded with the epithet of 
" Puritan." 

Under the government of James the 1st, 
the Puritans found as little favour as ever 
they had done under the House of Tudor, for 
Popery was. in fact, the favourite religion of 
all the St nails, whatever were their profes- 
sions or their oaths ; but the period had now 
arrived in which their numbers increased 
rapidly, and they received some countenance 
even from the nobility. Being taken into the 
families of men of rank, as their chaplains, 
and the tutors of their children, they now 
acquired boldness in advancing those truths 
which proved highly serviceable to the cause 
of freedom. Amongst other things they 
taught their auditories and pupils that sub- 
ordinate magistrates might lawfully make use 
of force to defend themselves, the common- 
wealth, and true religion, whenever the chief 
magistrate turned tyrant — imposed upon his 
subjects unconstitutional burthens — forced 
upon them idolatry — and when resistance 

was the only expedient to secure their lives, 

fortunes, and liberty of conscience. 

The principles, therefore, of these excellent 

men standing, as they did. opposed to 

■nbilrary power and superstition, excited, in 

'!i-' reigns of the Stuart.-, the enmity of those 
tyrants and their familiars who ruled in 

Church ami State, and drew upon them all 
those sufferings which they experienced. 

They insisted upon a limited monarchy, as 



opposed io an insufferable despotism; and 
upon the primitive and apostolic church, as 
opposed to the impostures and corruptions of 
the Romish establishment ; and for such 
crimes as these they have been reviled and 
calumniated as rebels and traitors. Clarendon 
says "they were 1 the chief 'incendiaries.' and 
had the chief influence in promoting the civil 
war," — an assertion which may be safely 
and readily admitted without any concession 
derogatory to their piety or patriotism, when 
the character and conduct of Charles, and 
Clarendon, and their party is cons': lered. 

Having thus sketched the rise a id the pro- 
gress of Puritanism down to the time of Mr. 
Wales, the first minister here of whom I can 
discover an} 7 trace, and who appears to have 
been highly respected by Lord Wharton, an 
eminent chief of the Republican party during 
the Civil War, the reader may well imagine 
how the pulses of our townsmen beat during 
that momentous struggle ; and what I shall 
hereafter state will abundantly confirm the 
inference. In their political principles, indeed, 
the Puritan flocks of every denomination 
appear at first to have been sound,* and in 
the dissemination of them their pastors were 
highly useful ; far more so, I am sorry to 
add, than some of them in after times became 
in their polemical controversies, or pulpit 
exercises. 

"The Puritan or Parliament clergy." says 
Neaie in his comments upon them under the 
reign of Charles the 1st, "were zealous 
Calvinists, and having been for some years 
prohibited from preaching against the 
Arminians, they now pointed all their artillery 
against them, insisting on little else in their 
sermons but the doctrines of predestination — 
justification by faith — salvation by free grace 
— and the inability of man to do what is good. 
The duties of the second table were too much 
neglected. From a strong aversion to 
Arminianism these divines unhappilly made 
way for Antinomianism, verging from ono 
extreme to another until, at length, some of 
the weaker sort were lost in the wild mazes 
of enthusiastical dreams and visions; and 
others, from false principles, pretended to 
justify the hidden works of dishonesty. The 
assembly of divines did what they could to 

put a stop to these pernicious errors; but the 

A valuable collection of traits in my possession, printed 
and published before and during the Civil War, abundantly 
illustrate the above assertion. Many of them arc admirably 
well written, and present us with a' striking picture of the 

limes. 



to 



great scarcity of preachers, of a learned 

education, who took part with the Parliament, 
left some pulpits in the country empty, and 
the people to be led aside in many places by 
every bold pretender to inspiration." 

From the whole history, indeed, of the 
Nonconformists in the reign of Charles, and 
the subsequent period, it is manifest, that the 

Puritans of these times, generally, were no 
longer the same men in religion, especially, 
that had shone in the early periods of the 
Reformation; and the change may be Avell 
accounted for when it is recollected, that from 
the year 1G1G. when the first Independent 
Chapel was built in England, prodigious car- 
goes of metaphysical divinity f — suitable, 
alas! to the taste of the age — was imported 
from Geneva { and distributed among men 
who had but too much reason to undervalue 
every tenet of the Romish church. But the 
injury to society here was soon apparent ; 
for, when more attention was paid to points 
on which Dissenters differed than to those on 
which they were agreed — " when more zeal 
was displayed in proposing paradoxes and 
defending subtleties, than in inculcating the 
plainly revealed — the important, and useful 
truths of Christianity, the lovely fruits of 
}>eace and charity perished beneath the storms 
of controversy." 

With all my partiality, therefore, for those 
admirable men who in the Commonwealth 
and succeeding times displayed a patriotism 
and liberality truly charming, I, yet, cannot 
but despise the cant and drivelling imbecility 
which they discovered in their fanatical reve- 
ries ; and I cannot but detest it as having 
given to the enemy a just ground for triumph 
— as having, moreover, shocked or disgusted 
multitudes who, but for this, might have been 
won over to the standard of reform, and 
might have occasioned us to have become, 
both in Church and State, a very different 
nation from what the nineteenth century has 
found us. 

Although it cannot, now, be ascertained 
who succeeded Mr. Wales, at Morley, or 
what were his principles, we may be assured 
he was of the denomination called " Presby- 
terian," from the encouragemenl which many 
of the supplies met with from the Lords 

t It should seem, from what Blahop IJurnet tells us, that 
into Scotland as well as England, this plague in religion had 
become prevalent about the same time.— Own times, vol 1 
p. 62. 

J It is curious to observe that the doctrines of Calviu arc 
now nowhere more disliked than they are at Ueneva. 



Savile, Fairfax, and Wharton, all of thai 
sect. Whoever may be desirous of knowing 
more than I shall here transcribe, will consult 
Dr. Calamy's Memorial. Suffice it to observe 
that, since the second revolution, our fore- 
fathers have chosen for their pa-tor-, down 
to the end of the last century, men of real 
learning — of somewhat different sentiments, 
but generally, if not always, of the denomi- 
nation called (however improperly) " Presby- 
terian."§ Where there may be a variance 1 

shall perhaps remember to notice it hereafter. 

But, to return to the Chapel, since from a 
comparison of its pillars, or posturns, and 
their springers or spurs, and also of the 
wood-work in its roof, with similar erections 
(having dates or without them) it is impossible 
to believe it of greater antiquity than the a-ra 
of Elizabeth, we are driven to the conclusion 
that it was used as a barn but lor a short 
period; for that this building, under BOme 
form or other, was the Chapel at Morley. in 
the time of Mr. Wales, may be depended on. 
unless the chancel end was the chapel. 

Now it is certain that this chancel was a 
school or vestry in these times, and from in- 
spection it appears probable that it continued 
a distinct and integral building till 1660, if not 
in 1693. It is most likely that it was the 
vestry as well as the village school after 
"the Restoration," but 1 am convinced it 
was not laid open to the Chapel till after the 
Revolution in 1G88. 

The only document, however, shewing the 
existence of a Chapel here in 1650, is the 
Original Trust Deed, which conveys, along 
with other premises, "a parcel of land called 

Chapped Yeard wherein the ChappeH of 

Morley now Btandeth." This Chapel must. 
however, have been a sorry edifice in these 

day> : for besides such evidence of the fact 
as [s supplied by a view of the building itself, 
the low state of trade and population here, 

and the unsettled state of the nation till the 

ascendancy of Cromwell, leave ns no room to 
doubt of the ruin of the Chapel, and the 

poverty of its curates. 

Bui the period at length arrived in which 
the congregation at the Chapel increased 

rapidly ; and. from the influence, no doubt, of 
its pastors and chief members, obtained such 

countenance, that Thomas Viscount Savile. 
Earl <»f Sussex, Lord of the Manor in 1650, 

and living at llowley Hall, was pleased to 

| No doubt they wire so called horn making common cmm 
with the Pmbyttifotu oi scots during the Cm! W 



&0 



granl to certain Trustees of the Presbyterian 
denomination, a lease for five hundred years 
i»l* the Chapel premises with some land and 
buildings, "and all the tithes of corn, grain, 
grass, and hay thereunto belonging, al an 
annual renl of Twenty Shillings, 'for the 
benefit of a preaching* minister.' " 

Before I proceed further it will perhaps be 
bes1 i" recapitulate some things here, and 
mention others, in order that a more clear 
outline or sketch of history may be presented 
down to the 25th of September, 1G50, when 
this lease was granted. It is. certainly, a 
very imperfect one. but it is the best which I 
ran collect out of mere fragments and doubt- 
ful authorities. 

It appears then that, by grant from the 
Conqueror, whatever pertained to the Saxon 
Church at Morley, was transferred to Ilbert 
de Lacy, or was acquired by his son Robert, 
who having reduced it to a Chapelry depen- 
dant on Batley, (which Church he had 
founded) and having given tlief advowson of 
the latter to the Priory of St. Oswald at 
Nostel, whatever profits might arise from the 
former would, in all probability, become vested 
in that religious house ; and that they were 
so vested is further shewn by a circumstance 
which shall be hereafter noticed. In this 
state matters seem to have continued till the 
dissolution of the Monasteries, when Cardinal 
Wolsey had assigned to him the spoils of 
that of St. Oswald's, which convent he again 
surrendered to Henry 8th, on the 20th of 
November, 1549, and had a pension assigned 
to him in lieu of it. To whom this Monastery 
with it chapel lies or dependencies was granted 
by the " Defender of the Faith," I know not, 
but that, as far as the Chapelry at Morley is 
concerned, the Chapel property and glebe 
passed \ along with the manor and tithes into 
Lay-hands, I am well assured; for, about the 

The distinction between "a preaching " and a "reading 
minister," appears to have been long kept up and well under- 
load. See note to Lysons's .Mag. Brit; vol. 5, p. 107; but, 
especially, Strype'a Life of Bishop Aylmer, p. 127 8. Even 
I oarlefl the 1st called reading "a new inn! slothful mode of 
preaching," and forbade it at Cambridge. Note to Buchanan's 
•• star in the Bast." 

t The gift of this advowson by llobert de Lacy was con- 
firmed by Hugh de la Val, King Henry 1st and 2nd, and by 
Pope Alexander 3rd. This Robert also gave to St. Oswald's 
Priory, all his land in AJcenMhaghe(Okenahaw) Burt. Monast. ; 
from which bonk also it appears that " Robert and Mabel las 

wife, and Ilbert and Henry their sons, gave to Gilbert the 

Hermit of St. James de Nostel, and to the Brethren of the 

lame house and their successors serving God there, the manor 
Ol Nether BnttOD with all SUCh liberties as Ilbert, father of the 
lid Robert, bad of the fiee gift of William of Normandy, the 
year after be COnqtb red Kngland." 

; It appears to me thai In Henry the 8th's reign there was 

HO Chapel here, but only the Chanced or some inconsiderable 
pari of the one demolished. The building, indeed, of a tithe- 

barn by the Lord, in Elizabeth's reign, on the site Of it. 
unictentlj indicate- the nature of the property. 



year 1812, when a contention arose between 
certain misguided individuals and the Earl of 
Dartmouth, respecting the tithes, his Lord- 
ship (if I mistake not) deduced his title from 
the gram 1 by Henry the 8th, of the property 

Of St. Oswald's, to the first§ lay possessor, 
and thence in a course of succession to his 
family. Indeed the grant of all manner of 
tithes belonging to the premises, leased as 
before slated, by the then lord of the manor 
clearly shews, that since the Reformation 
at least, they have ever been vested in lay- 
hands. 

The only passage relating to Morley which 
I can find in Burton's Monastacon (except as 
hereinafter will be mentioned) is as follows : — 
"Ralph de Insula" (de Lisle) and William 
his son or brother gave twelve oxgangs at 
Morley, to the Priory at Nostel, and Robert 
son of Herbert de Beston, gave twelve acres 
of land here (i.e. at Beeston) to the same 
Priory." Morley is certainly not in the list 
of Churches and Chapels given to this Priory, 
but perhaps it passed to it along with Batley 
or as an appendant to that Church. My 
suspicion of this arises from an extract which 
will be found in a following page. 

Taking it for granted, however, that the 
premises in question, under whatever form or 
circumstances they appeared, did as certainly 
belong, to the Earl of Sussex If as did the 
manor and the tithes, it only remains for me 
to account for the grant of our lease by this 
nobleman ; but, before I come immediately to 
the point, as the times in which he lived are 
the most deserving the attention of English- 
men, and the most scandalously misrepresented 
of any in the compass of our annals, I shall 
take leave to mention a few things, by way 
of preliminary. 

To persons conversant with English history 
it is well known that, under the reigns of the 
Tudors|| and first Stuart, it was deemed a 
capital piece of state policy to prohibit the 
nobility and great landed proprietors, from 
living near each other, and especially from 
holding much intercourse near the metropolis; 
and that proclamations were often issued 
commanding them to retire to their country 
seats, and threatening those of them who 
should dare to remain in London. Such a 



§ See how this kind of property was disposed of.— Rush - 
worth, vol. -, p. 163. 

•l See how this kind of property was disposed of.— Rush- 
worth. \<>1. 2, p, L6S. 

See Irchteologia, vol 8, p. 158. Hume, &c. vol. 6, p. l«9. 
Rushworth, vol B, p. :'^ s 



21 



residence was. in these clays, considered dan- 
gerous to prerogative, as leading to discus- 
Bions upon the Frame and administration of 
the government, and as rendering the great 
more truly sensible of their individual strength 
and importance. These were the days when 
despotism over-strode the land in its most 
simple and intelligible form; and the will of 
an individual here was even more absolute 
than it now appears at Tunis, Algiers, or 
Constantinople.* The absurd caprice of a 
nam. or the wretched bigotry of a woman, 
stood in the place of law, and impotent 
indeed were the whispers of reason, the dic- 
tates of conscience, or the claims of justice. 
Short-lived, however, and short-sighted, was 
the policy alluded to, as the events of Charles's 
reign evinced. The wealth amassed by the 
nobles in their domestic retirements rendered 
them independent — the influence acquired by 
their hospitalities, charities, and intercourse 
made them powerful — they could not be con- 
veniently tampered with by the court, and 
they would not be its slaves — and thus the 
nation began to display a disposition for 
shaking off a yoke under which it had groaned 
for ages. 

In every point of view, as it strikes me, in 
which the subject can be considered, these 
imperious mandates were of service to the 
public. Translated, from the artificial heat 
and sickly nurture of a court, f to the cooling 
shade, refreshing breezes, and crystal streams, 
which reading, meditation, and argument sup- 
ply, our nobility, of those times, became 
settled in a soil and climate fit for the growth 
of piety, morality, patriotism, and sound 
learning; and indeed their improvement was 
soon evidenced by the decay of that aristocratic 
pride and selfishness for which they had been 
thentofore remarkable. Early, therefore, in 
the seventeenth century, we perceive them 
discovering an interest for the welfare of their 
fellow-countrymen in inferior stations; who. 
on the other hand, became civilised and 
orderly in the vicinity of their great neigh- 
Historians, generally, arc either not sufficiently acquainted 
with these truths, or they, knavishly, gloss the subject over 
as well as they can ; - but, the fact is, that under tlio Tudors 
a license from the crown was necessary to enable a man to 
keep on his cap or a woman her hat— to go a journey to 
embattle a mansion— to wear a beard -or even to worship the 
Creator where and when they pleased. Besides which, their 
property — nay even their very children, might be taken from 
them by these despots. See hyson's M. U. vol. i, ]>. 600. 
Centleuaan's Mag. for 181:5, p. Ms, 418, &c. Ellis's Letters, 
vol. 2, p. 300. The Patent ltolls ; and Ky liter's Feeders, Ch. 
post. p. 31. A fine Constitution truly ! 

t Dr. Whitaker, even, remarks as follows : "I urn not rare 
that increased facility of access to the Capital i-; a national 
benefit." History of Craven, \>. 202. 



bours, participated in their rural sports, and 
were enriched by their munificence. Know- 
ledge was henceforth evidently upon the 
advance — it created a spirit of adven tun 
the parent of commerce, which be{ 
opulence. The country too became improved 
by the many capacious mansions which about 
this period were erected, and enriched by the 
wealth which promoted industry under ever} 
form. Thus was pr< rperty acquired and diffused 
through society. A middle and intelligent 
gentry appeared in the land, who soon dis- 
covered that they had something to achieve; 
for manly feelings now pervaded the bulk of 
the community, and the dominion of civil and 
ecclesiastical tyranny became equally insup- 
portable. The impostures of the Romish, 
and superfluous formalities of the Protestant 
Church had been successfully unveiled to 
them, and they now also discovered thecheal 
of a rapacious and arbitrary J government. 
And thus, when we consider the progress 
which literature had made, the spirit of the 
age — but, above all, the ACTS of Charles's 
Government, we can well account for the 
conduct of our Republican ancestors, and 
especially for that of Thomas Viscount 
Savile, Earl of Sussex. 

Whatever may be the feelings of those 
who, as regardless of virtue and talent as of 
the glory and welfare of their country, can 
only bestow their flatteries on the powers 
that be. I, for one of a family devoted to 
Liberal and patriotic principles for many 
generations, am wont to cast a reverential eye 
upon that period when England was most 
formidable abroad — most flourishing and 
happy at home; and with ineffable contempt 
for those time-servers who have reviled 
Cromwell and his Government, 1 am proud to 
declare my particular admiration of them both. 
Except indeed for that restless ambition by 
which the latter was distinguished, the Pro- 
tector was. indeed, to England what Napoleon 
was to France; and. in a purer and more 

enlightened age than the present, 1 have do 



; The Language even held to royalty, before the I """"Aft 
wealth times, was of the most abject, degrading, and eon 

temptible kind, and, of itself. thOWl 01 106 nature of the 

antecedent government* On one [occasion the great people 
told Elisabeth thai they expostulated " not In reapeot of eelf 
will, stoutness, or striving agalnsl your Majesty, for we are 
but oanei mortul ant pullees' (1 dead dogs or m 
parlson, And the ame or! ot teptllei (conquered ilaves) 
afterwards told James the Lai thai the] (the people) were but 
"the i.ieath of hie nostrils 1 1 ! Hani more inch Lnsta 
might be adduced Bee, for Instance, Rapine, roL 2, p i. :.. 
fa AJchseoL vol. 20, p. 21, 847, 249 . rol. i". p 
from p, 964 to 976. so. Even the i>uk<- of Buckingham in 
1616, hunting with Jamei rode before him bareheaded in the 
nrintei tlmi KlUai i.-u- 1 8e< ond Sexl rol ' ; | 



22 



doubt that the administration of these illus- 
trious § legislators and heroes will be a 
favourite subject with the historian, the 
orator, and the poet. As applicable, however, 

to the period material to this history, and to 
which 1 am referring, I shall here insert, in 
the eloquent Language of the one. what 
appears to mc so correct, and so remarkably 

allusive to the rise of the other, as to deserve 
an everlasting memorial : first only, premising, 

that from the inadequate representation of the 
people of England in Parliament — from the 
corruption, jealousies, and factions of the 
Commons' -house, anterior to the Protectorate,! 
those advantages did not accrue to the nation 
which had naturally been expected from 
Republican councils ; and that, in fact, a 
strong Government, with a chief magistrate 
at its head, and all the energies of the nation 
at his disposal, was as necessary to England 
in 1650, as a Dictator^ was to Home for the 
salvation of its Republic. But the causes of 
this change in the views of our forefathers is 
so exactly described in the memoirs alluded 
to, that, as a most valuable commentary, I 
here present it. 

" "When lamentable weakness and endless 
versatility," says the great Napoleon, w * are 
manifested in the councils of a government. 
AVhen an administration yielding by turns to 
the influence of every opposing party, and 
going on from day to day without any fixed 
plan or determined system has shewn its utter 
insufficiency ; and when the most moderate 
citizens are obliged to confess that they are 
without a government. AVhen rulers, insigni- 
ficant* at home, have shamefully brought on 
their country the contempt of foreigners (the 
greatest of injuries in the eyes of a proud 
people), a vague uneasiness spreads through 
society. Agitated by the instincts of self- 
preservation it looks into its own resources, 
and seeks for some one able to save it from 
destruction. 

" A populous nation always possesses this 
tutelary genius in its own bosom, though he 
may sometimes be tardy in his appearance.f 

§ I allude especially to the code Napoleon, and what .Mr. 
Butler (an excellent authority) says in his " Reminiscences." 

Halifax, Leeds, and Manchester were represented in 
Oliver's time Bm Watson's History of Halifax. 

•J Adams's Antiquities, p. 162. Hook, <\x. Thus was 
Largius created. 

* This may be applied to the Stuarts, hut certainly not to 
the long Parliament. Godwin's Commonwealth, vol. 4, p. 81, 
&c. 

t There cannot be a doubt, I think, who it was that 
Napoleon thought on when he dictated this remarkable 
passage. Indeed, Cromwell appears to ha\e been the frequent 



It is nol indeed, sufficient for him to exist — 

lie must be known to others, and he must 
know himself.^ Until then all endeavours are 
vain. The inertness of the multitude is the 
protection of the nominal government. But 
let the Deliverer, — so impatiently expected, 
give a proof of his existence, and the nation 
instinctively acknowledges, and calls upon 
him. All obstacles vanish at his approach, 
and a great people, thronging round his steps, 
seem exultingly to proclaim— THIS IS TILE 
MAX." 

Such was the state of the public mind in 
England when the Lease of Morley Old 
Chapel and its premises was granted by the 
Earl of Sussex. The Civil War between 
Charles and the Parliament had raged for 
nine years, but the " tutelary Genius" of the 
nation had some time appeared, and had 
given ample proofs of his existence. Before 
his rise the Republicans had been officered, 
in, chief, by the nobility, whose natural bias 
towards royalty made them, generally, luke- 
warm, vaccillating, and irresolute, and dis- 
couraged their followers. Although the men 
had some good intentions, and a high sense of 
honour according to the principles of ancient 
chivalry, they were no Patriots, but seem 
rather to have contended for a limited des- 
potism than for absolute freedom. But a 
champion of another sort at length stood 
forth, and the people appear to have instinc- 
tively acknowledged § him. Fighting for 
victory, and not for compromise — for freedom, 
and not for a partial reform — for the real 
interests of a great nation, and not for the 
power of a corrupt oligarchy, he kindled such 
an enthusiasm in the army as made it invin- 
cible. At the period of which I write he had 
just gained the wonderful victory at Dunbar 
in Scotland, on his auspicious third of Sep- 
tember; the rumour of which, for reasons 
hereafter to be related, would quickly arrive 
at Morley, % and would as certainly be pro- 
ductive of great rejoicing. It henceforth 
became easy to foresee the important changes 

subject of his conversation, and perhaps even of his imitation. 
See Mr. O'Meara's Work, vol. 2, p. 34 — 60, Sec. Memoirs by 
Courgaud, vol. 1, p. T>3. 

{ This is manifested by a conversation between Cromwell 
and Whitlock. which the latter has recorded. See also 
Memoirs of O. Cromwell, by Oliver Cromwell, Esq., vol. 2, p. 
219. Godwin'i Commonwealth, vol 4, p. 16, ic. 

§ This 1 shall make, as I think, pretty evident in another 
Work, and that by something more than mere assertion. See 
Appx. No. 4. 

•J An interesting Tale relating to this passage shall be here- 
after introduced. — From several concurrent circumstances, I 
have always believed that the Lease of Morley Chapel was 
procured by the Influence of those who were with Cromwell at 
Dunbar. 



23 



which were to happen in Church and State 
throughout the land ; and. in consequence, it 
is certain that the Earl of Sussex would be 
induced to grant the Lease in question, as 
well from political, as conscientious, motives. 

But — before I say more of Cromwell — as 
the history of Thomas Lord Viscount Savile, 
Earl of Sussex, and of the times in which he 
lived is nearly connected with my design in 
this work, 1 must present the reader with a 
sketch of it; especially as no connected 
account of him has ever been laid before the 
public. 

This nobleman was a younger son of Sir 
John Savile, of Howley, who. during the 
reign of James the 1st. had been a powerful 
leader in the House of Commons, — a zealous 
opponent of the court party, and what is 
singular (perhaps unprecedented) one who 
was advanced to the rank of Comptroller of 
the Household, on account of his parlia- 
mentary talents, and opposition to the royal 
measures. || He appears to have continued 
attached to the court for some years after the 
accession of Charles, and throughout that 
period in which the Earl of Strafford and his 
friend Sir George Radcliffe were on the other 
side. But. whatever were the sentiments of 
Sir John Savile. in civil or religious concerns, 
he was ever opposed to Lord Strafford. II.' 
was, indeed, as he was styled, the " hereditary 
enemy of the House of Wentworth ;" and 
Strafford, in his letters, often makes mention 
of this enmity towards himself, in one passage 
contemptuously calling him " Old Howley" 
Towards Radcliffe also. Sir John appear- to 
have indulged the same spirit and on the 
same account — they were rivals in politics — 
and this produced a rupture between two 
families which had. for some generations, 
l>een on terms of the closes! friendship.** 11 
was not, however, long after Charles*- acces- 
sion that Strafford and Radcliffe went over to 
the court party, and the, then newly made 
Baron of Pontefraci (probably for his political 
integrity) was disgraced. Of this elevation 
of Strafford and disgusl of Savile, Lord 
Clarendon in his jf history of, whal he calls, 

II WhitclocL s Memorial. Hume. Radcliffe's Letters, &c 
•• It appears that Nicholas Radcliffe, the father fof Sir 
Ccorg*. by his will bequeathed "to sir John Savile, of 
Howler, Knyght, one Sylvcr » upjie called a Tanl 
desiring him to have » favorable care over his Children." 
Alas! *\a< '. that party spiri-, <»• a difference in sentiment 
(of whatever kind) should occasion men to forget the most 
solemn obligations, and plainest precepts of Christianity! 
See UadclirTe's Letters. 

H To form a correct judgment of t lie character and credl 
bility of this Lord Clarendon, *ce Brodee's excellent " History 



"the rebellion." writes thus : — •■ His (i.e. 
Strafford's) first inclinations and addresses 
to the court were only to establish his great- 
ness in the country, where he apprehended 
some acts of power from the Lord Savile, 
who had been his rival always there, and of 
late, had strengthened himself by being made 
a Privy Counsellor and officer at court ; but 
his first attempt- were bo prosperous, that be 
contented not himself with being secure from 
that Lord's power in the country, but rested 
not until he had bereaved him of all power 
and place at court ; and so sent him down a 
most abject and disconsolate old man into his 
country, where he was to have the superin- 
tending over him. by getting himself at that 
time made Lord President of the North." 

Thus were the tables turned, as to these 
politicians, about the year 1628. Now, as 

Strafford was an enemy to the Puritans or 
Presbyterians, a sect or denomination to 
which Lord Savile unquestionably belonged; 

and as the disputes of the times were, a- yt t. 
much more of a religious, than political com- 
plexion, it is obvious thai his lordship would 
view the preferment of this new favourite of 
royalty with peculiar displeasure on every 

account ; ami that after his death, in 1680, 
his sou and our patron, Thomas Lord 
Viscount Savile. would be opposed to the 
court party, at least until 1641, when the 
ruin of its leader was accomplished, and 

Strafford died upon the scaffold. It is little 
known, but the fact seems indisputable, that 

this Lord Savile contributed more to bring 

about these events than any other person iii 
the kingdom; yet, as the means which he 
employed cannot be justified, he seems enti- 
tled, individually, to little credit for Buch an 
act of service t<> his country. 

It appears that in l<;;;'.» the Scots had risen 

in arms against Charles, and that. \<>\- a time, 
he had contrived to appease them : but in the 

year foil. .win--, finding that treaties were 
little binding upon a man of his perfidious 
character, and that his stipulations and 
assurances were only mad. time and 

effectuate bis despotic designs, then again 
assembled an army, and marched int.. England 
as far .-is Durham. At this time the King's 
affairs were so prosperous that he treated, 
with equal haughtiness the remonstrance of 

hi- BUbjectS, generally, and many of his 

of thi mpire, \<>i idwia'i 

History ol the < ommonwcalth, and the Introdvetorv chanter 
Fox's Historical Work, p 



SM 



English nobility in particular, who were 
equally «>!Ycii<lc(| by bis personal demeanour 
and the acta of Iris government. During 
iliis crisis, and while the Scots were lingering 
upon their own borders, a letter and message 
was bcuI to the Earl of Rothes, their general, 
purporting to conic from six noblemen of the 
lirsl consideration in England, inviting the 
advance of this army in order to rescue the 
country from its impending danger. The 
letter and message, it has been alleged, was 
the sole fabrication of Lord Savile,* and that 
the other noblemen whose names were used, 
were wholly ignorant of the transaction. 
This, certainly, is very improbable — but, 
whether true or false, (lie scheme succeeded; 
f( >r t he ] >r< >gress of the Scots was only arrested 
by the treaty at Ripon ; and, from the subse- 
quent continuance of their army in England, 
we may trace the downfall of Strafford — the 
t riumph of the Republican cause — the destruc- 
tion of Charles, and the rise of the Common- 
wealth. 

At the commencement of the Civil War, 
it is manifest that Lord Savile, with a large 
portion of the chief nobility, was continually 
hovering around the seat of royalty,! and 
using his best endeavours to bring Charles to 
mild and reasonable measures. They seem 
to have taken a middle course between the 
principles of civil liberty and the old despotism, 
luil with a strong bias towards the latter, as 
is very natural with an hereditary aristocracy ; 
for though they saw, with grief, that the 
King's councils were governed by an alien 
Queen, a popish faction, and inveterate 
enemies, yet they adhered to the side of 
loyally with an amazing obstinacy; nor 
were they sensible of their folly until by the 
contempt and haired of that party they were 
made to smart for it. Desirous, however, to 
avert the impending calamities of the limes, 
these nobles, to the Dumber of forty, with 
Lord Savile in the train, surrounded the King 
at York, and offered liim their services; and 
in May I G 42, published a strong declaration 
in his favour, from thence they appear to 

have followed him to Oxford; nor was i( 



Bum el says, " The Lord Savile's forgery came t<» be die 

■ i The King knew It, and ye1 be was brought after- 

u i liim and advance him to be Earl of Sussex. 

The King pressed wj uncle to deliver him the letter, who 

upon in • oath i and, nol knowing « lial 
might i» madeol it hecutoul everj jubscription and sent it 
to t i j ' - person for whom it was rorged. The Imitation was so 
that even mana oon as he saw bis band Bimplj bj 
acknowledged he could not have denied it.' Own 
vol i p. 42 W elwood'a Edema, p. s:j. 
Hrake Hi ton ol Jfork, p. 150, 



until 1645 that some of them were awakened 
to a sense of duty to their country. Among 
the number of these we find the Lord Savile, 
who by the artful and perfidious monarch had 
been created Earl of Sussex in the preceding 
year, by way of cloak to the lurking- enmity 
which rankled in his heart,J and for which it 
is easy to account. Besides the hostility of 
his lordship to the Earl of Strafford. Arch- 
bishop Laud, and the Catholics, — he was a 
Presbyterian in religion, and for a limited 
monarchy in his polities ; and these were un- 
pardonable crimes in the mind of Charles. 
Sussex at length became aware of this, and, 
in consequence, on the 18th or 19th of March. 
1644-5, on the curious pretence J of repairing 
to the councils of the Queen, he left his royal 
master, and threw himself into the arms of 
the parliament. On his arrival, however, in 
London, he was arrested, examined by a 
committee of the lords touching- the grounds 
of his coming in, and committed into custody ; 
and by an order of parliament of the same 
month stating, "that he had not given any 
satisfaction for his coming from Oxford, but 
rather many grounds of suspicion that he 
came to do ill offices;'' he was ordered wi to 
depart the city and all other the parliamentary 
quarters and garrisons, and betake himself to 
the King, or wherever else he pleased in one 
week ; or, in default thereof, to be proceeded 
against as adhering to the enemy. § 

It will be seen by an extract from Dr. 
Whitaker's History of Leeds, to be found in 
a subsequent page of this work, that his 
lordship had, but a short time before his 
desertion of Charles, being urging his claims 
to a recompense or satisfaction for the plunder 
and damage done by the Royalist forces, 
when in 1043 they broke into and ransacked 
his splendid mansion of Howley Hall; and it 
will also be perceived, by the language of the 
answer to his petition, that the king and his 
council had great doubts whether these spoils 
were to be regarded of " RebeVs Goods'' or no/. 
upon which the question of compensation 
entirely hinged. Being far from being satis- 
lied with Lord Savile, on some account or 
other, the reply which he received, if not an 
evasive one, was. certainly, of such a nature 
as left the matter undecided until that fad 



; "The King's cabinet opened," Ac. See a curious letter 
in this collection, p. 12, letter 18. As to tliis work, see Gentle- 
man's Magazine, vol. t>o\ p. (> : i~>. 

s Whitelock's Memorial. I am convinced from this and 
other circumstances thai there was much treachery in the 
Commons, and great need tor such a man as Cromwell before 
lie Interposed materially. 



35 



could be ascertained ; disappointed, therefore, 
in his hopes of redress, it is probable that 
from this "cavalier" treatment alone, the 
Earl of Sussex at once discovered the feeling 
of the court party towards liiraself, and the 
motive it had in conferring upon him the 
cheap gewgaw of an empty title; and that. 
in revenge for the artifice, as well as for the 
reasons before stated, he left Oxford with a 
fixed resolution to take up arms on the side 
of the Parliament. 

However this may be, it appears, thai on 
the 22nd of the month following, Lord Savile 
made his peace with the Parliament by 
taking', along with four other noblemen, the 
oaths prescribed for such as joined that side. 
before .the commissioners of the great seal ; 
and on the 1st of July we find him coming 
forward with an accusation against Hollis 
and Whitlock, two celebrated members, 
charging them with being " well affected 
towards the King and his cause." Whitlock 
(who relates the incident, which, as he 
pretends, gave rise to this impeachment) 
observes, that ; * it was a contrivance of some 
of the Presbyterian part]) to take him and 
Hollis out of the way, that the Lord Savile. 
newly revolted from the King, charged them 
of high treason to the Parliament — an allega- 
tion very singular indeed, as Hollis ^vas 
accounted the head of that very party, and 
which only shews what a "Moles non bene 
junctarum rerum, concordia discors," this 
Republic must have been, as I have before 
intimated — yet, notwithstanding the plausible 
tale of Whitlock, I am thoroughly satisfied, 
from the subsequent conduct of Hollis* in 
particular, that the charge was not ill-founded, 
although it was not so considered by the 
Commons' -house ; and although, in conse- 
quence thereof, Lord Sussex was lodged in 
the Tower, and in October, lG4fi. was obliged 
to purchase his liberty at a price greatly ex- 
ceeding a thousand pound-. 

What became of Lord Sussex subsequent 
to 1()KI. and whether he took any active part 
in public affairs — when he died — or where lie 
was buried, ii would now he very difficult, if 
not impossible, to discover. My own con- 
jecture, formed upon various circumstances is, 
that he retired, altogether, from public lite. 

This fellow, who was made a lord " for hi* merits " at the 
restoration, had the baseness to a why//, that 

he wanted courage, A specimen of Impudence whicl 
completely without a parallel, until the same thii 
0( Napoleon in our times. Sec, moreover, Godwin's Com 
monwealth. vol. 1, p, 387. Gentleman'- Biagaiine f"i" 1821, p 
800, vvc. 



and resided at. — enlarged and beautified his 

noble mansion at Sowley, between this p 
and that of his death; which probably hap- 
pened before 1663, if no1 1660, whei 
lordship would be about sixty or seventy 

years of age, if he lived to see that unfor- 
tunate year. But I think it most likely that 

he died sometime about -'the restorati< 
and that he was interred somewhere abroad, 

or in the smith of England ; for he was, 
evidently, not buried at Batley, Thonihill, 
Aekworth. or Methley. 

When this narrative, however, with that of 
the treatment which his lordship experienced 
at Oxford, is coupled with a recollection of 
the public feeling, from U',11 to 1650 esp 
ally, it will be readily perceived that the 
Lease by him --ranted to the Trust© 
Morley Old Chapel, was executed in favour of 
the dissenting interest. — Not for the en- 
couragement of the Papist^ mi- Semi-Papists 

Of those days, yeleped •• Protestants," but 
that of Puritan pastors. — Nol for the support 

of a ."reading," but of a "preachii 
ministry. Episcopacy was, in poinl of Fact, 

abolished at this time, and the sister church, 
if not deprived of its venom, was disarmed of 
it- sting, when Cromwell, the "tutelary 
Genius " of England, an 

Since Morley and the neighbouring * illages 

have to date the o muneneeiiieiit of their 

prosperity,! and their inhabitants were 
assuredly the most happy J under the popular 
and paternal government of this illustrious 
man. appropriately called --the Protector of 
the Commonwealth of England," 1 cannol 
refrain from paying to his shade the ]><><•)■ 
tribute of my individual homage; and more 
especially as I perceive that in almosl every 
species of writ in- 1 at the present day his 

character is defamed. Put. before 1 do this 
act of strict justice, 1 would remark it a- a 
singular thin-- (on a superficial view) that 
two of the greatest of our English rulers 
should have been the mosl calumniated of all 
others. — l mean our third § Richard and 
( lliver Cromwell. 

It ha- been the siujrular misfortui 



t one of tin: Axttulea of Impeachment against W 
Charles's bishops and favourites, was iii.it. "he i 

.ii, I of ill K ■ y of whom using 

employed one bun red p Holland, 

jLc win re thej u I up and tin the ' 

hindrance «'f trade, and Impoverishing the peopi< "i this 
kingdom." 

Wl . Yoi tan Is U id ol 

happiness, the answ " Ui I but those were < 

:i .ii this would i e insult to aa 
intelligent ■• 



26 



Richard, and is the best excuse for many 
historians, that he lived just within the 
penumbra of an age — barbarous and turbu- 
lent, and which was scarcely touched by the 
first beams of science — an age in which the 
most wary might be misled by the deceitful 
glare of those wandering lights which the 
monkish chroniclers, with their poor manu- 
scripts, afford us. Happily, however, for the 
sons of literature, by a train of fortunate 
occurrences, the torch of truth has been 
brought before this »ra by an indefatigable 
and • impartial inquirers; and we now 
contemplate through the awful and mysterious 
gloom, not a crooked tyrant and atrocious 
murderer, but a magnanimous, just, and wise, 
sovereign, supplanted by the vilest and meanest 
usurper of whom history makes mention, and 
whose execrable family retained a crown 
through his impostures and falsehoods. 
Talk of "usurpers" and tyrants indeed! 
but where in all our annals are we to find 
such an impudent usurpation and insufferable 
despotism as that of the House of Tudor. 

There was. however, some shadow of an 
excuse for the writers who have blackened 
Richard out of compliment to these "Pre- 
tenders;" for so artfully had the first of 
them contrived to hoodwink the people, and 
transfer his own crimes to his unfortunate 
rival, that some who have perpetuated his 
libels may have erred through ignorance, and 
their apology must be that they lived in a 
gloomy and deceptive age. But, what shall 
be said for those who, to please the House of 
Stuart, or carry favour even in later times. 
have had the meanness and effrontery to abuse 
Cromwell ? 

The nrnst rancorous enemies which the 
Protector ever had. have been compelled to 
acknowledge, however reluctantly, the sur- 
prising talents of the man, and the consum- 
mate wisdom of his policy. He called to his 
councils the wisest and mosl upright men in 
the nation, and, the "career being open to 

merit," he preferred every one accordingly. 
[Ie caused justice in be administered with 

? it is vi'iv singular, bul the fact is, that almost everything 
we know for certain truth, respecting Richard, redounds to 
his honour. He stood high in tin- estimation of his <>wn 
family . and higher, apparently, with his brother's widow than 
king Henrj her son in law, Be was exceedingly beloved bj 
the people ol Yorkshire. See Drake's Vorkand Hall Lth u 

f ic. \iiinv nf Mm- calumnies published against him are 
disproved bj Lord Oxford and man] others; asto the resl 
,i,,. s me ridiculous ami Incredible Bee Bayley's Tower of 
i ,, ,'„!,,,, ttapin, Etc, Ellis's Letters Second Series, \<>\. L, 
p. L22. 

Hew men ard opinions change with tunes and circum 
,,„,,,-, hut in Speed England p, 621 



singular ability. He used the public money 
with frugality, and employed it to the best 
advantage. " He had a zeal for trade and 
commerce beyond all his predecessors,' ' and 
it flourished greatly under his sway.*" Tie 
wasagenerous friend to learned and goodf 
men — the refuge of persecuted! Protestants 
abroad, and the guardian of his poorest 
subjects at home. His liberality and tolera- 
tion embraced even the Jew. He made no. 
invidious distinctions between one class of 
subjects and another; and none were mol- 
ested, but such as molested the government. 
lie suppressed no institutions but such as 
were, in his times at least, generally odious, 
and considered as highly dangerous to British 
liberty. He provided for the support of 
worthy pastors of various tenets — abolished 
pluralities — and exacted a proper attention to 
ministerial duties.|| He bestowed thousands 
yearly out of his own purse, on private 
charities. Not one of his relations was 
materially enriched by his elevation ; and as 
to Cromwell himself, he died poor. Indeed 
the same thing may be said of Pym and 
other chiefs of the Republic — they died poor ! 
— for it was not wealth but freedom which 
they sought. § 

Such being the character of Cromwell, and 
such the popularity and splendour of his ad- 
ministration, under circumstances the most 
difficult, perplexing", and dangerous of any 
with which an individual was ever encom- 
passed on assuming the reins of Government, 
it is natural to inquire into the motives of 
those who have exhibited so much acrimony 

Neale's History, &c> Ellis's Letters, Second Series, vol. 
3. p. 380 

se his conduct to Archbishop Usher. To niddle, and 
innumerable others. Burton's Diary, vol. 2, p, 314, &c. ; vol. 

4, p. 475. 

| See a fine anecdote in Chandler's History of l'ersecution, 
p 174. Harris, p. 38. Burnet, vol' 1, p. 107-8. 
Godwin, vol. 4, p. 38, &c. 

§ See character of freton in Ludlow's Memoirs. Godwin. 
kc. Or, Mr. Cromwell's .Memoirs, vol. 2, p. 209, 

% " I have sometimes," says Bolingbroke, " represented to 
myself the vulgar, who are accidentiy distinguished by the 
title of lvinc and subject, of lonl and vassal, of nobleman and 
peasant, and the few, who are distinguished by nature so 
essentially from the herd of mankind that (figure apart) they 
seem to be <>f another species. The former loiter or trifle 
away their whole time : and their presence, or their absense, 
would be equally unperceived, if caprice or accident did not 
raise them often to stations wherein their stupidity or their 
vices make them a public misfortune. The latter come into 
the world, at hast continue in it, after the effects of surprise 
and Inexperience are over, lih men who are sent upon more im- 
portant errands." 

" Great people and champions," says Luther, "are special 
gifts of Odd whom he givetb and prcserveth ; they carry their 
business and achieve greal nets, not with vain imaginations 
and cold and Bleep] cogitations, but are specially moved there 1 
unto and driven on by God. and bo do accomplish their course 
Mud acts. < olloquia, oh. ,;:; . p. 188, 





towards him, and so little for those " miser- 
ables " of the usurping- family of Tudor, and 
despotic house of Stuart, who have astonished 
or disgusted the world by their crimes — their 
tyranny — their profligacy — or their weakness. 
These motives. I am persuaded, are best 
accomited for by referring to the basest, 
and most mischievous passions of the heart. 

When private individuals, like Cromwell 
or Napoleon are ordained by Providence to 
arise amidst the clangour and clash of civil 
commotions, and after composing a distracted 
state by the power of their mighty genius, to 
receive a tributary homage in the admiration 
of neighbouring countries, and enthusiasm of 
their own ; they come arrayed with a majesty 
which mocks the pageantry of common form, 
and pours contempt on its factitious grandeur. 
But, when liberal feelings and a generous 
philantropy, as in the instance of Cromwell, 
are happily associated with talents of the first 
order, we behold, indeed, pourtrayed to the 
life, that fine character which poets and 
philosophers have delighted to feign without 
ever expecting' to see it realized. Yet, though 
contemplative and impartial men will ever be 
captivated by native dignity and intrinsic ex- 
cellence,^ far different will be the feelings of 
the selfish, the envious, and the corrupt, for 
the most obvious reasons. " The 1 [ercules i >f 
reform will cleanse the Augaan stable of 
abuses" — abolish monopolies — discard favi wr- 
ites— expose frauds, surpass his predecessors 
in virtue and talent, and establish a govern- 
ment on the firm basis of justice and policy. 
In the vocabulary, therefore, of his enemies. 
the reformer will be a "tyrant" — the phil- 
antopist a " hypocrite, " and the man of the 
people, a u usurper." His character — his 
genius — his design, nay, even his besl act i< >ns 
will all be misrepresented, and invective and 
falsehood will be substituted for argument and 
truth. Can we wonder at this, when we con- 
sider the institutions and state of society in 
most countries, and how natural it is, that in 
proportion as the interests, privileges, and 
influence of certain classes is diminished, 
made subordinate to the public welfare, or 
even threatened their jealousy should be 
roused, their envy excited, and their malice 
exasperated ? 

At the service of these classes, in most 
European countries, there is always ready a 
set of men of whom it may confidently be 
asserted that, if the magnitude of crime is to 
be estimated by a regard of consequences, it 



is theirs which .surpasses every other in 
turpitude. These are that numerous body of 
needy scribes ami courtly sycophants who 
sell their birthright for a mess of pottage — 

who everlastingly ad\ KJate war- — foment 
national antipathies — cling to the side of 
power and wealth — slight the majesty of a 
great people, and woul I haw mankind, if 
passible, in the darkness and thraldom of the 
middle ages. 

However forward ami accommodating at 
other seasons, these people had the discretion, 

if not the modesty, to hide their heads in the 
time of Cromwell. lie wanted not their 
services*- he feared not their clamour. But, 

when the Sovereign of the earth disappeared 
— when the political horizon became darkened, 
they returned again to their dirty work. 
Favoured by the assistance of disappointed 
zealots, and the easy Credulity of the nation, 

they proceeded to decry the Protectorate 
Government with a rancour f towards its 
chief, exactly proportionate to the grandeur 
of his talents and \\n' merit of his deeds. 

It is a melancholy truth, which observation 

however teaches, that the enmity of had men 
towards an object of their calumny is often 
rather increased than diminished by the con- 
templation of his eminence — nor is this at all 
surprising. When a man becomes detestable 
for his profligacy, or contemptible for his 
imbecility, most people of reflection are, in 
some measure, averse to him. so that the edge 

of resentment becomes blunted by his un- 
popularity, and (of course) degradation. Hut, 
oh! how much is it sharpened in the other 
case when he towers above his species, 

excites their wonder, and extorts their 
applause. How mortifying, then, the thought, 
thai a private gentleman, without the influence 
of high station, of wealth, patronage, con- 
nexions, "i foreign alliances, should have 
vanquished warriors, instructed legislators, 
dazzled the eves and won the hearts of 

See an instance in the rase of Waller. Cromwell, how- 

i \n, bad no want of psnegyristi In hi> time Sea Bapin and 
others, and the "addressers," the "life and fortune " men, 
Brit paid their ednlatlona to Mm. 

"Cromwell, however, had no want of panegyrists to cele- 
brate his memory, hut many of them contemptibly And 
meanly turned roiui'l with the times ; ami then, most dbi- 
Raoefnllj to themselves, equally vilified and ahiucd it " 
Rapin Mi also, Harris, p. 370. 

t One of the Yilcst fellows of this -$..rt was Heath, respecting 
whom see a note to burton's Ihary. vol ::, p IM Another 

of them wai Bates, author of the " Rlenchui Mottuun," Ac. 
Roger i. Estrange, John Birkenhead, and raob ai wrote news* 

papers to delude the public are well known HODDS. author 
«,f the " Behemoth." J <>kc of " the Detection." with I'urson'a 
Berlin, and Parker, and Pool < towley, were >>f the same btwr 
SoeftlSO Noble, vol. 1. p. J3t-as^. 



•_•« 



millions — conciliated hostile pari ies — become, 
in fact, the Sovereign of Europe, by the terror 
of his name alone; and yet should have dis- 
played a benevolence and humility — a regard 
for morals, and zeal for religion, Buch as we 
shall vainly look for in the history of the 
legitimates, — How mortifying, 1 say. is this! 

As comparisons are often odious, and the 
more so as they become dangerous, and ye1 
are often forced upon mankind by a singular 
contrast ; and as hard names and illiberal 
surmises are a species of coin which, however 
light, will generally pass for much more than 
solid arguments and stubborn facts ; the wily 
partisans of the Stuart dynasty were fully 
aware that the impending evils of that mis- 
chief were only to be averted by these fallacies 
— they dealt them out, therefore, unsparingly 
— and from that period it has been the craft 
of men of like principles, by such means, to 
assail the reputation of Oliver Cromwell. — 
Yet, (so powerful is the light of truth!) the 
splendour of his fame has pierced the mists 
of succeeding times, and will continue to 
stream through future ages, with an increas- 
ing and lasting brilliancy. 

It is not, however, the mere lustre of the 
protectorate of Cromwell, though that is 
sufficiently provoking, but the principles and 
precedent by him established, which have 
excited the alarm of the great, and anger of 
the corrupt ; — their hatred, therefore, it must 
ever be remembered, is mainly attributable to 
those principles of which he was the wonder- 
ful — the successful champion. 

In that momentous contest — the Civil 
War — we cannot fail to discern one grand 
peculiarity which renders it memorable beyond 
all the preceding contests of which we read ; 
I mean the clash of speculative differences, 
both in religion and politics, which gave it 
birth, and supplied such fearful matter for the 
work of destruction as were thentofore un- 
known. It was (as a writer on the French 
Revolution remarks) "a war of l principles " 
which, operating upon the understandings 
and passions of men in an unprecedented 
degree, convulsed the nation to Its utmost 
limits." In the disputes of former ages, 
however the belligerent chiefs might be 
affected, there was little to interesl the bulk 
of the community, or excite its energies. — 
Originating in the caprice of a despot — the 
pride of his minions, or the turbulence of his 

uobles — the feudal slave or stupid hireling 

was little concerned for the final issue, But, 



in the great Civil War, besides that fortune 
and freedom was at the stake, there was a 
striking discordancy between the opinions 
and institutions of society. On the one side, 
we perceive the ardour of reform — on the 
other side, the jealousy of power. On this 
hand, the longings for improvement — on that, 
the fear of change. A contempt for antiquated 
superstitions by the former — a singular attach- 
ment to them by the latter. \\ natever, in 
short, Avas most calculated to stir up the strife 
and hatred of parties were the dreadful 
elements of this long- and furious contest, in 
which the very ties of marriage and of 
kin died, i as well as of country, were for- 
gotten. 

But, to return again to the history of our 
Chapel — since the Earl of Sussex was evidently 
a dissenter of the Presbyterian class, and the 
Protector belonged to the Independents^ it 
seems unlikely that the endowment of this 
Chapel by the former, could have been in- 
tended merely to raise himself in the favour 
of the latter. He, doubtless, well knew the 
equitable and tolerant character of the rising 
chieftain — how little he valued the particular 
advancement of a sect, compared with the 
general encouragement of religion and morals, 
and how little he sought the co-operation of 
a party, whether in black, buff,* yellow, or 
blue, compared with the attainment of a 
deserved popularity — the idol of his heart. 
Sussex, in this instance, was evidently swayed 
by views and inclinations which, though 
commendable, were but narrow compared with 
those which marked the course of his great 
contemporary. At least the miserable pre- 
judices and crooked policy of the Presbyte- 
rians, formed a striking contrast to the 
liberal, philanthropic, and generous conduct 
of their enlightened governor. 

The persons to whom this Earl of Sussex 
conveyed our Chapel premises "in Trust" 
were Edwardf Birtby, of Scholecroft — 
Thomas Otes, John Reyner, William Ward, 
John Crowther, and Thomas Greatheed, of 
Morley — John Smith, William Barber, and 

I Seo, especially, a speech of General Lambert, in Burton's 
Diary, vol. 3, p. 187. 

§ Newton is said at one time to have believed in astrology. 
Bacon in the transmutation of metals. Dr. Johnson in ghosts 
and apparitions. Lord Halo in witchcraft. Napoleon in 
destiny. Locke delighted in romances,— and Cromwell in the 
reveries of Calvin ! ! ! What is man, even when in intellect 
but a little lower the angels I 

* The military uniform was not then scarlot as it is now— 
this colour being with blue (if my memory serves me) first 
introduced in George the lst's reign. 

t Buried at Batloy, April Oth. 1684. See Regv. 



2H 



"Joshua Grtatheed" of Gildersome, and 
Robert Paulden and William Burnhill, of 
Churwell ; whoso names 1 mention, because 
two of them, at least, were celebrated 
characters in their days, and all of them seem 
to have been men of much consequence in 
this vicinity. Otes (whose name I spell as it 
appears, not only in the Trust Deed, but in 
his own hand writing- in various documents 
La my possession) was one of the chiefs in 
the " Farnley Wood Plot," in 1663. To this 
date I must direct the particular attention of 
my readers, as it stands connected with 
something very curious in this hist >ry. 

The other Trustee to whom 1 allude is. 
Joshua Greatheed. who resided nearly opposite 
to the place where- Gildersome Chapel now 
stands. At the commencement of the Civil 
"War he was a gentleman of small estate, 
but of high character hereabouts for patriotism 
and bravery. Many a dreadful blow did this 
intrepid warrior deal out upon the Royalists, 
at the Battle of Adwalton Moor, as I have 
gathered from tradition, and as the swords of 
the family seem to indicate. He was about 
28 years of age at the time of the fight ; and 
upon this field he laid the foundation of his 
fortune, his military reputation, and his rank. 
From this Republican, on the paternal side, I 
am descended, and I have now before me the 
commission given him by Lord Fairfax, 
whereby he was, in January Kilt (about six 
months after the battle), promoted to be 
major of a regiment of foot commanded by 
Col. Richard Thornton ; after which, and 
especially after the death of his colonel (who 
probably fell either on Marstonf Moor or 
before Pontefract§ Castle), he appears to have 
been advanced. At all events, his military 
fame increased with his years; for he was, 
long afterwards, selected by the Republicans 
of these parts to be their General for the 
West Riding. And in that character he 
would, doubtless, have appeared, had not an 
ill arranged plan miscarried, owing to the 
treachery of some who were privy to it. 
Indeed, he had risen so far as to have attained 
the honour of being Lieut. Col. under General 
Lambert prior to "the restoration." \\ bother 
the major || was hearty in the conspiracy or 
not, he was at leasl privy to it. as were 

I See Murcurius Rusticus or Boothroyd's Historv of l'onte- 
fract, p. 182. 

ft See Mercurius A aliens, p. 140. 

II Lord Clarendon, with his usual disregard to truth, has 
aiserted that the appointment of Major General! over t lie 
counties, brought an incredible accession of wealth into 
Cromwell's coffers. Bishop Warburton replies as follows :— 



evidently most of the principal DiaseLten 
and their Pastora hereabouts: having h 
goaded to rebelli »n by the ingratitude, per- 
fidy, and cruelty of Charles the 2nd, par- 
ticularly in his " act of uniformity,*' passed 
in the preceding year. This conspii 
though little noticed in our general hisfc 
was the common I >pic rsation i 

century, perhaps, after it- failure, among our 
neighbouring villagers, and is -till called the 
"Farnley \Vood PI >1 :" of which, for evident 
reasons, 1 shall set down all the intelligence 
that, with much industry, I have gleaned. 

"On the 12th of October, 1663," says the 
memorandum of an ancestor of mine, "a 
little before midnight, the following c in- 
spirators did actually meet at a place called 

* i he Trench.' in Farnley Wood, viz. : — 
Captain Thomas Oates, Ralph Oates, his son 
— Joshua Cardmaker, alias Asquith, alias 
Sparling, Luke Lund. John Ellis, William 
Westerman, John Possard (servant of Abra- 
ham Dawson, who lent him a horso), and 
William Tolson, all of Morley. John Nettle- 
ton and John Xettleton, jun.. both of Dun- 
ningley-Joseph Crowther, Timothy Crowther, 

William Dickinson, Thomas Westerman, and 

Edward Webster, all o( G-ildersome — Robert 
Oldred, of Dewsbury, and Richard Oldred, 
commonly called -the Devil* of Dewsbury 1 — 
Israel Rhodes, of Woodkirk — lohn Lac ck, 
of Bradford — Robert Scott, of Alverthorpe, 
and John Holdsworth, of churwell. Being 
all surprised at thesmallness of their number, 

they made but a short stay. and. perceiving 
no more coming-, Captain Oates desired them 
t ) return home, or shift themselves as they 

could." 

Bishop Bumet alluding to this plot, under 
date of 1663, proceeds as follows: "The 
Commonwealth men," says he. "wen- now 
thinking that they saw the stream of the 
nation turning against the court, and upon 
that they were meeting, and laying plots to 
restore the lost game. One of these being 

•• This i-> absolutely false, ai appeeri by the letters of th* 

I Major G ■ -lUvtion ol Thurloe'g papers; 

whereby it appears thai the mi rtrnMiAii did, 

:it must, only rapport the Ol * raise 1 troops which t ho Major 

t rem i t" t liable them to 

put their authority in eseooftion " Btt Note to Burton's 
l)i;iry, vol. 1, p. 1 1 " 

«I Formerly many pa •\llc<l by tho appellation 

■• DevU Thus we read of rd of 

Ifontroaaoi ' WllUelmns Dlabolus, an Bnttlan M 
■ Hughes le Diable," Lord of Luslgnan, and R ibert. Duke of 
Normandy, ion of the Conqueror, wai surnamed " the Dtvfl 

: 

Bol tor, wai In Klihard 

it's reign, for his Bereeneea, oaUed " u«n " Mount*! Tuns, 
Peokwttn p 



:;n 



taken, and apprehending he was in danger, 
begged his life of the king, and said, it' he 
might be assured of his pardon, he would toll 
where my Uncle Waristoun was, who was 
then at Rouen." As Burnet, unfortunately, 
mentions aol the name of this conspirator, we 
are left in the dark respecting him. 

Bishop Parker — a man of a very different 
spirit and character* from the honesl Burnet, 
tells the following tale : — 

"In lGGo." says this historian, " a con- 
spiracy was a Foot in Ireland, fomented in 
part by Presbyterian preachers, of which onef 
Charnock was the leader. One Philip Alden 
discovered it to the Government, and was 
confirmed in his account, by one Theophilus 
Jones, an appointed commander of the Rebels 
— which latter discoverer, that the discovery 
might be the better concealed, was thrown 
into prison along with the rest, from whence 
ii was pretended he made his escape ; though 
he was in truth privily sent to England, and 
outlawed for his pretended escape. The king 
embraced the man and bade him make one in 
1 he councils of the Rebels, and he was accord- 
ingly present at all of them, and kept nothing 
from the king. lie held a close correspon- 
dence with Ludlow, sent all his letters to the 
king, and discovered all that was transacted 
at home — so that the king had all the con- 
spirators, as it were, shut up in a siege, and 
all their projects came to nothing." 

After relating that this Jones was in 1G66, 
detected in his treachery, and by what means 
it came to be manifested. Bishop Parker pro- 
ceeds thus : — 

* ; The same year," says he (speaking of 
1663), "the flame of the same conspiracy 
broke out in England, which, if it had not 
been taken in time and extinguished, would 
suddenly have spread throughout the nation ; 
for had not a part of the conspiracy in the 
Northern counties broke out into action before 
the time appointed, there is no doubt the 
whole would have appeared in a sudden blaze 
at once — for the assembly had chosen the 
12th of October as the day upon which they 

* Of all the venal, versatile, and unprincipled characters 
with which the reigns of Charles and James 2nd abounded, 
this Parker appears to have been the chief, not even Monk 
hlmielf excepted. His religion equally with his politics seems 
ev«r to have been adapted to suit the taste of the ruling 
power*, and his writings not only stand condemned on the 
authority of Lord Ilale, and Anthony a Wood, but, even of 
his own biographer. But, Andrew Marvel took clown his 
insolence, and he retired from the contest with that great man 
defeated and humbled, even in the eyes of liis own party 
S*e his life prefixed to hii history, p. 7. 

t See an account of Charnook, in Dr. Cftlamy'l Memorial. 
v(A . 1. p IW. 



should all. at one hour, stand to their arms; 
but, when they could not get any thing in 
London ready against the appointed time, as 
it commonly happens, they deferred the 
matter twelve days longer. But the zeal of 
the Northern men could not contain itself so 
long; but some of them, on the first day 
appointed, appeared in a place called Famley 
I rrove, near the town of Leeds, rich in woollen 
manufactures. These, being presently routed 
and taken, made a discovery of the whole 
conspiracy. The king, indeed, had them in a 
net. as shall be told hereafter. The leader of 
the conspiracy was Thomas Oates, a captain. 
I am afraid the libel in which they declared 
the causes of the war is lost, but it was proved 
by several witnesses that it was made up of 
these articles, whereby all parties of schis- 
matics might be more easily drawn into their 
cause. The first, which was in favour of the 
Presbyterians, was for restoring the authority 
of the old rebel parliamennt. The next was 
for restoring the ejected ministers, and then, 
that all of them might be soothed at once, 
liberty of conscience was to be allowed to 
every one. Tithes and taxes were to be 
taken off — and, lastly, all the ancient liberties 
w r hich had been violated by the tyranny of 
kings, were to be renewed by force of arms," 
&c. 

Speaking of the Confederates, this Bishop 
afterwards adds, " But the most active of all 
in the affair w 7 as one Atkinson, a travelling 
pedlar ; wiio, in his little shop that hung at 
his back, carried letters through all parts of 
the kingdom with incredible expedition. They 
had officers also on every side, who in a 
moment might head their soldiers, as it were 
in their proper quarters, in the nearest county 
of Nottingham, bishopric of Durham and 
Lancashire. But those in whom they placed 
their chief confidence and hopes failed them 
most. Smithson,! formerly Lieut. Col. to 
Lilburn ; and Greatheed, Lieut. Col. to Lambert, 
were, the one appointed General of the North, 
and the other of the West Riding ; but these, 
voluntarily, discovered the whole matter at 
York, by which discovery they lost all oppor- 
tunity of meeting together; so that when 
Oates had hid a few of his men at night in the 
wood, they had scarce separated at break of 
day. before most of them were carried off 
trou i their march into prison. So happy was 
the end of so dangerous a conspiracy.' , 

I Probably the same officer who is mentioned in Hodgson's 
.Memoirs, p. 110 



Finally, we are told by this writer, that •• one 
Richardson, D.D.. the ejected Dean of Ripon, 
fled and died beyond sea ; — that one Marsden 
escaped and changed his name to Ralphson, 
and died in London, in 1083; and that one 
Fisher, late of Sheffield Hermitage, ejected 
out of the curacy of Holbeck, in the parish of 
Leeds ; and one Stead, a Scot, acted as nuncio 
between the Scotch and English fanatics." 

Rapin says. " In August the Kin-- and 
Queen made a progress into the West of 
England for five or six weeks, during which 
time a conspiracy was discovered, carried on 
by the Old Republicans and Independents, to 
restore the Commonwealth. They pretended 
to seize several towns, particularly in the 
North, where they believed themselves 
strongest, and then raise a general insurrec- 
tion; but, being discovered by one of their 
accomplices, many were apprehended, and 
twenty-one were convicted and executed in 
July following. It was asserted that Ludlow 
and Lambert were to head these Rebels, 
though the first never stirred out of Switzer- 
land ; as for Lambert, he never lefl the Isle 
of Guernsey, where he was confined. If any 
proofs had appeared against him,§ doubtless 
be would not have been spared." 

'•In 16G3," says Drake.|| "was an insur- 
rection in Yorkshire, the leaders of which 
were all conventicle preachers and old Parlia- 
ment soldiers. Their pretences for this 
rebellion were, to redeem themselves from the 
excise and all subsidies — to re-establish a 
gospel magistracy and ministry — to restore 
the Long Parliament, and to reform all orders 
and degrees of men. especially the lawyers 
and clergy. In order to this, they printed a 
declaration, or according to Eachard, a call to 
rebellion, beginning with these words: — 'If 
there be any city, county or town in the three 
nations that will begin the righteous and 
glorious work,' &c, according to which a 
great, number of them appeared in arms in 
Farnley Wood, in Yorkshire." 

"But the time and place of rendezvous 
being known, a body el' regular troops, with 
Borne of the county militia, were sent against 
them, who seized upon several and prevented 
the execution of their designs. A commission 
Was sent down to York, in the depth of 
winter, to try the principal leaders of them; 
and Thomas Oats, Samuel Ellis, John Nettle- 



S "Doubtless" not for this undaunted patriot wai terrible 
to Charles and his wicked Government, even when in banish 
inent. 

-^c History of York. 



ton, sen., John NettJeton, jum. Robert Scott, 
William Tolson, John Porster, Robert Olroyd, 
John Asquith, Peregrine Corney, Jolui 

Snowden, John Smith. William A-h. Johu 
Errington, Robert Atkins, William Colton, 
George Denham, Henry Watson, Richard 
Wilson, Ralph Rymer, and Charles Carre, 
were condemned and executed ; most of them 
at York, and three at Leeds. Several of these 
hotheaded zealots behaved very insolently 
upon their trials.— Corney had the assurance 
to tell the Judge that, in such a case, lie 
valued his life no more than he did his hand- 
kerchief. Two of these enthusiastica] wretches 
were quartered, and their quarters set upon 
the several gates of the city. Four of their 
heads were set upon Micklegate Bar. — three 
on Bootham Bar. — one at Walmgate Bar. 
and three over the Castle Grates. These 
were the last persons, except some Popish 
priests, whom I can find executed for high 
treason in our city. 

The parish register at Leeds, under date of 
L663,say — " Robert Atkins, John Errington, 
and Henry Watson, hanged at Chapeltown." 

Clarendon says, — " Among those ^ ho were 
executed, the man looked upon was one 
Rymer,* of the quality of the better sorl ol 
Grand Jurymen, and held a wise man. Jle 
was discovered by a person of intimate trusl 
with him. He was a sullen man. and used 
few words to excuse himself , and none to hurt 
au\ body else; though it was thought he 
knew much, and that, having a good estate, 
he would never have embarked in a design 
which had no probability of success." 

Before making any observation on the fore- 
going accounts. I will present the reader with 
an extract from the Memoir- of Col. Hutchin- 
son, written by his accomplished and excellent 
wife— a lady of such integrity} (though not 
without prejudices) that whatever she state* 
for certain may. generally, be depended upon; 

Respecting Ralph Rymer, [find the following memoru 
dam ; 

"16th of \"\ L660 Bj the Comite for the Killtii • 
< 'ountj "t' \ orl 

■• in regard the Ladyl Radcliffe hath entered Into tecarities 
according to an order made . ippear before the 

Council of State, or the Militia of the County ol lfori 
shall ;<ri nothing prejudicial to the Commoowtalth ol I i| 
land . it is, there! that the Provosl Marshal shall 

sel the Ladj Etadclifle at Lib rtj 

JOHN -win 
i:i< ROBINSON I i: l INTKI.1.KX 

i; \ RYMER." 
t The W Won "i -ii ■■, ,, RadcUffe 

; < »i)< i'ii to condemn sui i si llnl 

chinson, r.udl ithers "i their class, but thcypartlj 

red the troubles which thej brought upon them • 
Mi- Hutchinson's weakn dent and ns • 

She ■• u band to '•« quite Impartl J 



32 



which is more than can be said for Parker, 
though a bishop, or for Clarendon, though a 
lord. 

"Because," says Mrs. Hutchinson, ••there 
is -.1 much uoise of a plot, ii is accessary to 
icll what hath since appeared. The Duke of 
Buckingham § set at work one Grore (Gower), 
Sheriff of Yorkshire, and others, who senl 
out trepanners among the discontented people, 
to stir fchem to insurrection, — to restore the 
Old Parliament, — gospel ministry, and English 
liberty, — which specious things found many 
ready to entertain them: and abundance of 
simple people were caught in the net, whereof 
some lives were lost ; but the colonel had no 
hand in it. holding himself, at that time, 
obliged to be quiet, ll is true, he still sus- 
pected insurrections of the | Papists, and had 
secured his house and yards better than they 
were the winter before, against any sudden 
assaults." 

Prom this Lady's subsequent information, 
it appears that about the 12th or loth of 
October, Hit;:;, her husband was arrested, as 
well as on the 19th, on suspicion of this plot, 
and Avas carried before the Marquis of New- 
castle, but was discharged. His house, how- 
ever, was searched, and, after being' again 
kept in custody some time, he was sent under 
;i guard to London. 

Here then we have the best edition of this 
plot. ;in it was written, at a time when the 
mystery of it had been dispelled by subsequent 
disclosures. — And here we have a picture of 
a line Government after, what is called, u the 
Usurpation" — A king-, restored to a crown, 
principally by the means of his Presbyterian 
friends ; who. in the simplicity of their heart-. 
believed his promises and " declarations,"— 
first proves faithless, then commences perse- 
cutor; and when, by his repeated provoca- 
tions, he has stung- this people to madness, he 
sends out his satanic agents to tempt them 
to the commission of crime, thai he may glut 
his revenge, and enjoy their property. This 
indeed, good Bishop Parker, was having them 
•■ in a siege," or "shut up in a net," as you 
term it ; and hanging their heads and limbs 
over city gate-, was a fine "recipe" for 



- i he character and end of Buckingham may be sees In 
Kumet'i "Own Times," voL L, p. LOO. And Hone's Tattle 
Book, voL i. p. 526. flower is mentioned La Drake's York, 
ami has lr-f t behind him Little bul the nam . 

it appears from this thai another massacre, similar to the 

a Ireland, was seriously apprehended. \\ bal ;i dis 

closure of the state of things In LOGS I!! I Leman, 

in addition to this rolun I Hutchinson's, should have the 

ii William Russell, by his noble descendant, and 
other books " liich pre en! n ti uc pi< I ure ol his ti 



allaying discontents, and making good sub- 
jects: but such practices, were it possible, I 

would whisper in your ear. were quite incom- 
patible with the policy, principles, or taste, of 
Oliver Cromwell. H 

It is pretty certain from the deposition of 
Ralph Gates, the captain's eldest son, who 
upon being- arrested impeached many of the 
confederates, that there had been other meet- 
ings prior to this iu Famley Wood; and 
especially one in the North of Yorkshire, at 
which, according to him, Major (Jreatheed 
had been present, and had proposed a scheme 
for supplying the insurgents with arms. 

••Major Great-heed swore* by the mass," 
says Ralph, " that he would take Sir John 
Armitage's house with twenty men." Captain 
Hodgson also, another military veteran, had 
given countenance to these meeting's, and 
many of the ejected ministers secretly en- 
couraged them. The motto which the con- 
spirators adopted upon this occasion sufficiently 
indicates the nature of their grievances, and 
justifies me in my assumption as to their chief 
cause. They, doubtless, were excited by 
many provocations, but more especially (I 
repeat it) by the " Act of uniformity." 

Captain Gates being an old Republican 
officer, had, doubtless, distinguished himself 
on the same fields with Major Creatheed, 
Captains Hodgson and Pickering-, and many 
others who lived in this vicinity. At the call 
of his country he first took up arms, and he 
probably laid them down when the army 
under Lambert was disbanded. Be this as it 
may. he had. after the Restoration, embraced 
a profession which, generally speaking, is far 
more honourable to a man. more beneficial to 
his country, and more compatible with the 
Christian character, than is that of a soldier. 
Ho was the village schoolmaster, and he 
taught his scholars in what had been a part 
of the Church of St. Mary, but is now the 
chancel end of the Chapel, as 1 have before 
noticed. From aged people I have heard 
that, upon his boys giving warning of the 
approach of military, he fled and was seen no 
more ai Morley : which is nol improbable, as 
the Chapel yard commands a distant view of 

• 8ei Burnet's " Own Times," vol. 1, p. 104 L28. 

Ing "by the mass" Ls very ancient. Cardinal 
\\ ..' ej . addressing himself to Sir Thomas More, .swore--" By 
the mass thou arl the verriesl fool of all the council."- sec 
Life of >i"., p 67. The Duke of Norfolk also swore — " By 
aasa Mi More il Ls perilous striving with princes "•— " By 
God's body Mr. .Merc' " indignatic Principis Mora est. 
[bid, ! \ v bal B subject is hero for reflection ! ! ! 

i ciii, the valuables, and " Curiosities in literature. 
Sec appendix, note 1. 



the road from Leeds, and as. it is certain, he 
was taken and executed. These old people, 
of the name of Batley, could perfectly recol- 
lect their forefathers often talking about "Old 
Oites" (according- to the village pronuncia- 
tion, and that of our ancient Englishf) and 
together with one Elizabeth Broadbent, they 
remembered hearing of his excellent character 
both as a teacher and a neighbour, with the 
general lamentation which ensued upon his 
death; but nobody has had the thought to 
transmit any written account of him to 
posterity, so that it has fallen to my lot, as 
to one "bom out of due time," to have the 
dying embers of a long tradition to stir up, 
k ing able to add no more than, that he lived 
a1 an old house in the middle of the village, 
at present occupied by Mr. Robert Smithies, 
a: tenant to the Earl of Dartmouth. 

From the descendants of John, or (as lie is 
called by Drake) Samuel Ellis, I learn that he 
als( > had been a soldier and trumpeter in the army 
of the Parliament — that he had acquired .some 
real estate, and lived upon it, at or near where 
Tingley house now stands; and that on his 
attainder, it was seized by the crown, its 
owner being hanged, drawn, and quartered. 

John Fossard, or Forster, "the servant of 
Abraham Dawson, who lent him a horse," 
had certainly been induced by his master (the 
father of an old minister hereafter to be men- 
tioned) either wholly, or in part, to join in 
this plot. He had been a cavalry soldier 
under Fairfax. This faithful servant, it was 
said, might have saved his own life by the 
sacrifice of his master's, but he disdained the 
thoughl ; and, in gratitude for his constancy, 
his widow and children were almost wholly 
supported by the Dawsons. 

Joseph Crowther had been a corporal in the 
Parliamentary army or under Cromwell. He 
was commonly called " Corporal Crowther," 
and to him, when al Morley, the "Agitators 
resorted," in a house on BanVs-hills, occupied 

al that period, by Crowther.-, probably of the 
same family, and si ill in the possession of a 
descendant. As he does not, seem to have 

been executed, doubtless, he fled his country, 
or he turned evidence. 1 have a remarkable 
chair in my possession which, it is not 
improbable, the corporal has often sat in, (it 

if was not. indeed. Ins own) and 1 call it 
'•Corporal Crowther's Chair," as the dis- 
covery el* it was accidental and surprising. 

t Sue Northumberland H 



William Dickenson, after lying long con- 
cealed with Atkinson, in coal pits, near 
Gildersome, came one night late to his own 
dwelling, and rapping at a window, asked For 
some shoes and stockings, which having 
received, he and Atkinson travelled to Lon- 
don ; but perceiving there a large reward 
advertised for their apprehension, t hey escaped 
to Holland.! Atkinson was usually called 
" Lai way," § in that (age when soubriquets 
were so common. His posterity may still be 
found near Gildersome. 

Respecting the other Confederates who 
lived hereabouts, I have little to relate. I 
would merely remark it as a curious incident. 
that, in my time even, there have been per- 
sons of the yvvx same names, and living near 
the very "spots" where their ancestors drew 
their first breath before the Commonwealth 
times. What townsman has not heard of the 
Nettietons, of Dunningley? and how many, 
like myself, have known Israel Rhodes,|| of 
Woodkirk? 

Joshua Asquith, alias Cardmaker, alias 
Sparling, (from whom, perhaps, we have a 
descendant of the very same name) seem- like 
many others, who met at w * the Trench," to 
have escaped with his life; but whether by 
flight or not, is uncertain. The great anoes 
of this man, undoubtedly, look his name from 
being a maker of cards, used in the dressing 
of ilax or of wool. Hugh Cardmaker was 
Trior of St. John Baptist, ;•! Bridgenortb. 
See Rymer, T. 1. first of Edward l. 
Archasologia, v. s. p. 157. 

Of all the persons, however, engaged in 

this unfortunate enterprise, the character of 
most interest is thai of .Major Joshua Great- 
heed, who was committed to York Castle on 
int of it. and appears to have had a 

narrow escape ; but as no mention Is made of 

this plot in the "State Trials," and no infor- 
mation can he obtained from the office "i" the 

Clerk of the Arraign- :it York, or from any 

documenl within my reach, it has happened, 

thai in all my various endeavours to pry into 

tin 1 particulars of this gentleman's .-hare in 

the concern, my curiosity has been baffled. 

I Charnook, tfarsden, ami most <>f the ": 
appear t" i> ive Bed to Holland. 
* n ; ■ thru in most ooniptracie i tin- chief 

i ■ anpowder Plot, 

( tarnei . Ball, and T< - id, :' sailed 

," " i ddcorn," and 
the re 

i Bnd a Mr. J n H daily) 

living at Hague Hall, in \< ■:>■>.. Topcll with 

i i. m | -.',•. ii ,ii md Topllff, were common I 
Beaten in Uhorlei and Jan rci us. 



34 



From papers iii my p >ssession it appears 
that the Major was bora aboul L615, and 1 
susped he lost hi- father when he was little 
more than seven years dt' age. A brother of 
his (Peter) was an eminent woollen manufac- 
turer, under the Protectorate, and lived at 
Morley ; and Thomas (oeathced. one of the 
first set of Trustees, was probably another 
brother. 1 find many Families of this name 
(always spelt Grreatheed) living hereabouts, 
so far hack as 1588. e. g. Agnes, Nicholas, 
Sibbil, Robert, Richard, and John, who had a 
numerous offspring. 

In early life the Major was married to one 
Susan, the daughter of a Mr. Ralph Crowther, 
of Gildersome, a man of some fortune, by 
which lady he had four sons and three 
daughters. His eldest son Joshua (whom 
circumstances incline me to think was 
deranged or impotent in some way or other) 
was killed or died unmarried and without issue 
in 1664, the year next after the plot; and, if 
I am right as to the person, he was buried at 
Batley on the 24th of May. His other sons 
and his three daughters* survived their father, 
who was certainly living- in 1681, and pro- 
bably died in 1(5<S4 or 5 ; but (it is most 
extraordinary) I cannot ascertain either the 
precise period of his death or the place of his 
interment. This may have been at Batley or 
at Morley, but that no stone should record the 
sepulture of a man so eminent is passing- 
strange indeed ! 

That there were some wicked agents em- 
ployed in the conspiracy, and through whose 
treachery our townsmen were betrayed, is 
manifest, wholly independent of the tradi- 
tionary account or that of Mrs. Hutchinson. 
Indeed, the statement of Bishop Burnet alone 
puts that; matter beyond doubt, and that 
many who were privy to it had " got wind" 
of the matter being- k - blown," Is equally 
evident; but why the rest were not apprized 
of their danger before they assembled nt. "the 
Trench," or who the Judas was in this 
business, 1 never could discover, further than 
as before related. 

I cannot, dismiss (lie narrative of these 

unfortunate men without a passing tribute of 
respecl for \\\r principles by which they were 

One thing has of ten excited my astonishment, which is, 
thai one <ii these Ladies in her epistolary correspondence spelt 
sn badly ; but my wondei has ceased on seeing thai even this 

e with chat sweet, angelic, accomplished female 
Lady Ruucll, and others of her rank, indeed, besides that, 

our orthography was far from Bettled in their day, \\ so 

have wonderfully advanced i:i tin- scale of society, if not in 
learning, -lincc the seventeenth century. 



actuated during the Civil War; and without 
regretting that by an error in judgment — by 
precipitancy and passion — and by the intrigues 

and machinations of diabolical emissaries, the}' 
should have been betrayed into the commission 
of a state crime, and the senseless project of 
revolutionizing a people who, as then, were 
not prepared for such a change. 

AVhocver has formed his notions of the 
soldiers of the Republic and Protectorate, 
either from the histories of other military men, 
or from what he may have read of these 
heroes in the delusive statements of venal 
writers, will, in my opinion, have formed them 
most absurdly. Their characters and actions, 
as pourtrayed by the best judges, pre- 
eminently distinguish them from all the war- 
riors of ancient or of modern times. The 
far-famed soldiers of Greece and of Rome 
were actuated by no other spirit than the 
ambition of conquest, and the thirst for spoil; 
and the boasted conquerors of later ages have 
contended upon principles equally mi justifiable 
and shocking. The Republican soldiers of 
Fiance, however righteous their cause, and 
just their quarrel, were yet atheists or infidels, 
who shut up the temples of God — proclaimed 
the "sovereignty of human reason" — pro- 
nounced death " an eternal sleep" — disturbed 
the repose of unoffending citizens, and denied 
even to the departed dead the " sad immunities 
of the grave."f Insensible to the common 
feelings of human nature — the exaltation of 
rank — the worth of private character — the 
infirmities of age — the innocence of youth, 
and the tears of beauty, were no protection 
from their remorseless vengeance. But the 
soldiers of the Republic of England were men 
of real worth — of kindly feelings — of exalted 
patriotism. J They took up arms from neces- 
sity and principle — they appeared in them 
with increasing splendor — they wielded them 
with irresistible might — they used them with 
moderation — they employed them only for the 
public welfare, and they laid them down when 
the public will commanded. They were not, 
like W\v mass of stipendiary, standing-, armies 
— the very scum and refuse of the earth. 
They did not, light for pay, though they were 
obliged to receive it. They were not a. band 
of factious men, fond <A' strife, or the k> din of 
war/' Their aim was not to lix a tyrant or 

En which respecl tiny resembled Charles 2nd, and his 
more execrable rufllans. See Harris's Life of Cromwell, p. 
100, and other authors, Bv way of contrast see Pepys's, under 
date of October IS, L004, page 815. 

| See Hani;, p. 85 .Nellie's Meins. p. 159. llodgsoil - 3 
Moms. p. 128, Ruahwflrth, vol. 7, p. 1271, &c, 



usurper on the throne; nor was it the 
imperious mandate of such an one that called 
them to battle. No! It was the voice of 
their beloved country which drew them from 
their peaceful abodes and industrious occupa- 
tions, — it was the dictate of conscience and 
the love of freedom. The military insignia of 
the French Revolutionists displayed the 
ferocity of those monsters, and proclaimed 
them heathens; the Royalist army of Charles 
also displayed no symbols indicative of a 
regard to piety, and the notorious profligacy 
of that army greatly contributed to its final 
overthrow. But the Republicans of England, 
who contended for " a Christian Magistracy " 
and "a Gospel Ministry" unfurled the ban- 
ners of tlie cross and inscribed upon them — 
-The Lord of Eosts,"— "God with us." The 
other armies, when in camp, exhibited hordes 
of gamesters, drunkards, and debauchees; 
but tlie "tents of Israel" contained men 
whose time was occupied in reading and 
meditation — In rational intercourse or religious 
observances. The bulletins of the Atheists 
attributed every success to an u arm of 
Beeh;" — the Tyrant and his myrmidons to 
their boasted "chivalry" or superior discipline ; 
— but the Sons of Freedom, with humility, 
ascribed all their victories " to the providence 
of God." 

Such soldiers as these the world never 
saw.* — The mighty Cromwell ! — the - thun- 
derbolt of war!" — unrivalled in the cabinet, 
the camp, and the field; -the profound and 
enterprising Fairfax; — the faithful and in- 
trepid Lambert — were, individually a hosl of 
themselves ; and their private characters will 
appear best by coiitrasl with those of other 
military chiefs, of whatever age or nation. 

Whoever considers how few of the Repub- 
licans, at the commencement of the war. had 
been inured to arms — how few of their leaders 
had been bred up in camps, and whal vasl 

obstacles they had to surmount, will 

perceive thai the wonders they achieved are 

solely tO be attributed to their per- dial 

merits. t their noble sentiments,}; and the 

Even Clarendon, in a speech to Parliament soon after the 
Restoration, on the question of disbanding tho Etepubllcan 

forces, thin describes them : Mis M | 

•antl tO this measure, yet, let me tell you, no other l'rimv in 

Europe wouJd be willing to disband such an army an army 
to which victory is entailed, and which, humanly speaking, 
could hardly fail of conquest whithersoever It should be Led 

An arm] Whose order and discipline whose sobriety and 

Banners whose com i nous and 

t, rribL on r tht torn Id,' Pai li unenl irj SI I 
t " They were certainly, "says Bishop Burnett, "th< 

disciplined, and tin- soberest army th it iii. been 

known in these latter able to do the 

functions of an oil.. 



justice of their cause. And while, I a 
reflecting mind, the details of similar transac- 
tions, in the general, will be tedious or pain- 
ful, the exploits (1 f these illustrious men will 
be interesting and profitable. To all. how- 
ever, it must be evident, that whatever portion 
of liberty their posterity once enjoyed, was 
wrested from the grasp of power by their 
manly struggles in the unequal cant 
When, therefore, in pacing the burial ground 
of our Chapel. 1 chance t<. cast my eye-- upon 
those spots where our Republican families are 
laid, the strain of the sublime Ossian ream 
me — •• Peace to the BOuls of the heroes — their 
deeds were great in fight!— lei them ride 
around me on clouds — let them shew their 
features in Avar." 

Amidst our regret at the absence of further 
information as to Major Greatheed and Cap- 
tain Oates, in the affair of the conspiracy, it 
is - ime c insolation that Ave have had pre- 
served to us the .Memoirs of their contem- 
porary and friend. Captain Hodgson, of Coley 
hall, near Hipperholme, written by himself, 
and which may give us some idea of his 
associates; and this is the more fortunate, 
inasmuch as those sapient gentlemen who 
have favoured the public with this work, have 
also, kindly, presented us with the Memoirs 
of a celebrated Royalist of i he <ame age, 
written also by himself. The book i< enti- 
tled "Original .Memoirs, written during the 
great Civil War. being the life of Sir Henry 
Slingsby§ and of Captain Hodgson, with 
notes;" — and from tin "I infer, that 

t\w intention of the publishers, in 1806, was 

t In n remonstrance to parliament, after it had become 
faithlt briots thns addressed ft : " We do not," said 

they, •' lo ik upon ourselves as a band of Janissaries lured 
only to fight the battles of the parliament, ' We hate volun- 
tarily taken up arms/',./- f/,< liberties "/ tht nation qfvhieh n 

UKI, before we lay them down we will see that ond 
provided for.' " 

? Sir Henry BUl I'aronet. Brd October, 

mil his second son was made a Gentleman of she 

Chamber, by diaries 1st. In 1648, lie met tlie KinRat Vork. 
and gave him live hundred pounds, and his son fare him two 
hundred pounds, " rids sir Henry SUngsbj , for i< It loyalty fi> 
hi$pri ■ ..<■ virulent writer of M8S collections, for 

tin- West Biding, in the Leeds Library, " was condemned by 

a factious and rebellious party, in «i high eourt of justice, BB0S1 
tlie information of one Ralph Waterhouse a v Sly mean fellow 

and beliea let. or rather basely murdertil.'" 

Whoever will take the trouble to COBSUlt the state trial*. 

shall soon And whether th "f " rerj mran fellow" 

-. suited to the character of Major Waterhouee, or to that 

of the man who gives him this epltfa i II here Just 

erre, that Blingsbj ted on the evidence of 

Cap t. Overton, the governor, and Lieutenant Thompaon, at 

weU as Of tl Dd that his guilt was manifest Ho 

attempted to raise a mutiny in Hull larrisoo to seduce the 
officers there bj proffering commissions from < harles. and. m 
short, to rekindle the ll:i Bo much for the false- 

hood about bis being "basely murd • much for 

tli" a I 'li it people would 

take bis calumnies " I poll tru . Iwln vol i 



86 



to pn ciit a contrast i E opposite characters 
the di advantage of the latter. If so, 1 am 
conto I i" take them upon the footing oftheir 
own- atenient, and would beg a perusal of 
the b ok by any man of candour and liberal 
educa ion. Tome. I declare, the portrait of 
the 01 e appears a kind of foil which displays 
to the besl advantage the beauty of the oilier. 
It presents a contrast as striking in degree 
(though not of like kind) a* that of a hideous 
negro woman with her Hat nose, thick lips, 
and woolly head, and that of a fair Circassian, 
or as the darkness of night and the light of 
day. If to disembodied spirits it is ever per- 
mitted to become once more interested in the 
trivial concerns of this transitory life, and the 
captain conld have framed tlie wish of Job — 
" that mine adversary had written a book," 
he would certainly have chosen such a man to 
guide his pen as was this baronet ; — but I 
will dismiss the comparison, by merely observ- 
ing, that the narrative of the one is written 
with all the phlegm and coldness of a recruit- 
ing serjeant, while that of the other exhibits 
the generous, spirited, and patriotic English- 
man. 

" When first I put my hand to the Lord's 
work," says this pious Republican, " I did it 
not rashly, but had many an hour, day and 
night to know my way, it being a time the 
nation was filled with rumours and fears of 
some bustling between the king and his grand 
council — the parliament that was called before 
the rebellion in Ireland ; — and, the first thing 
I took notice of, the king was gone to Scot- 
land to settle the service book, but it would 
not pass according to his mind — and while he 
was contending with them, news comes to 
him that the Rebels were up in Ireland, 
murdering all the Protestants before them, 
men, women, and children ; at which tidings 
lie leaves the Scots and returns to his parlia- 
ment in London; and not being long there, 
the Scots had raised a considerable army and 
marched to the borders to vindicate their 
rights, as they pretended. The king would 
have had his parliament to have declared them 
rebels, which they refused, and to have 

granted money in England to suppress them 
by force, in which they were shy. At last he 
raises the train bands and other forces to 

march towards the borders, and coming to a 
treaty with the Scots, commissioners were 
appointed on both sides, and me1 at Etippon, 

and agreed upon articles; but, not being 
pleasing a1 COUrt, they were afterwards burnt 



by the common hangman. Thus, ill humours 
began to breed through the three nations, 
and sprung on a pace to a very great height. 
Papers flew up and down in every place. 
That dreadful news of Ireland put a damp 
upon all honest spirits, the common report 
being of two hundred thousand murdered. 
Things began to look sadly at home — the 
Papists grew high — the Protestant party 
much discouraged. His majesty, with a 
guard, demands five members out of the house 
of commons, but was disappointed by reason 
of their absence that day. It seems he took 
the huff and withdrew himself, guards and 
party, to Newmarket, and by degrees to York, 
to set up the standard at Nottingham, and to 
lay seige to Hull. 

" These tilings caused serious thoughts in 
many, and amongst other things that I read 
and heard were these following, — namely, 
that the safety of the people is the supreme 
law both of nature and nations, and that 
there was a people before there were rulers 
and governors set over them ; and when 
these converted the government laid down by 
law, into an armed force, then did the people 
betake themselves to thoughts of reformation. 
This has been, an old practice whether the 
government be monarchy, aristocracy, or 
democracy. The fountain hath been from the 
agreement of the people,* and that rulers and 
governors are accountable to the people for 
their misgovernment, when they transgress 
the rules and laws by which the people did 
agree they would be governed — that is, the 
people assembled in parliaments or chief 
councils. Now I have found that England 
never was a pure monarchy, for that is 
tyranny, but a political monarchy, governed 
by laws. It had a King, the chiefest officer, 
one single person, who was compassed with 
laws above him, being made for him to rule 
by, and with a necessity of concurrence with 
Lords and Commons below him for future 
legislation, power, and authority; and he, at 
his coronation, swears to rule his people 
according to those laws. 

" But, at this time, the breach between the 
King and Parliament grew wider each day, 
and preparations were making for war in each 
plaee. The country people were threatened 
to have their arms taken from them; and 

" It was upon such premises as these, as my Tracts, &c., 
shew, that the Republicans of the seventeenth century, built 
their incontrovertible arguments. The slavish maxims of dark 
ages and despotic times and governments, they regarded with 
Ineffable contempt. 



that noise of the dreadful massacre in Ireland, 
startled many, an 1 constrained them to whet 
their swords', and prepare such instruments 
as they could to defend themselves; which 
was done by many that did foresee the evil, 
and observe the success." 

Such were the reflections of Capt. Hod 
and such, doubtless, were those of his 
associates. The Memoirs being short, and 
n -)t intended for publication, there is no 
n^ntion of Major Greatheed and Capt. Gates 
until he conies to the narrative of his own 
arrest and imprisonment for •* the Farnley 
Wood Plot;" and then, alas'! the reference 
to them is brief, merely apprizing lis of Sir 
Thomas Gower, the then Sheriff, having told 
him that -they had for some time absconded, 
and were not to be found — that a declaration 
had been drawn up by them— that their in- 
tention was to set up the Long Parliament, 
and that they had consulted with many of the 
members of it, among whom there was some 
disagreement." 

Whatever disagreement there might be 
amongst the Republicans, as to the policy of 
the measures proposed, there seems evidently 
a disagreement between the tale of Bishop 
Parker, who states that the Major " volun- 
tarily discovered the whole affair at York," 
and 'that of Sheriff Gower, who stated that 
he "absconded and was not to be found." 
This, I have no doubt, was the fact ; as 
Cower was, Of all persons, the most likely to 
|„. informed upon the subject, and could have 
qo motive for telling Hodgson t his prisoner, 
u falsehood, at this time. Besides which he 
seems Ynmi Mrs. Hutchinson's narrative, to 
have been deep in the secrets of Charles 2nd. 
The assertion, therefore, of Parker, about the 
voluntary confession of Smithson and Great- 
heed, seems either to evince his ignorance of 
the truth, or his disposition to pervert it ; 
which may well enough be credited by those 
who know that this " Vicar of Bray" was the 
calumniator of Andrew Marvel— Lickspittle 
fcO James 2nd, and Editor of the " Tory 
Chronicle." A man of whom the common 
saying was. in his day, that -lie had wit 

enough to colour anything though never so 
foul,' and impudence enough to affirm any- 
thing though never so false." 

Before 1 conclude this part of my narra- 
tive, 1 would solicit the attention of the 

T~Oapt Hodgson (be it noted) wns an acting M 

under the Commonwealth. His conaequenee may b< idged 

p| from what Is said page st of the Memoirs 



er to an extract from a 
amusing' matter, and. as an authority, as 

unsuspicious and satisfactory as can well be 
imagined. Itia "The Diaryof Samuel Pepy'a, 

," to which 1 refer, a gentleman who v 
Fellow of the Royal Society, and Secretary 

e Admiralty. 'in the reigns of Charles and 
dames the 2nd. When the nature of the 

wor k — the situation and opportunities of the 
man— the times in which he li mrished, and 
the company he was ever keeping are^ con- 
sidered, well indeed may we value 
throwing the clearest light on an in1 
period of history ; and. certainly, not I 
because the matter was never designed 
publication. Under date of 16G3, is I 
entry : — 

••'.Mr. Blackburn and [," Bays Mr. Pe 
" fell to talk about many things wherein he 
was very open to me. First, in that of 
Religion, he makes it a matter of im- 
prudence for the King and Council to Buffer 
liberty of conscience; and imputes the loss of 
Hungary to the Turks, from the Emperor 
denying them this liberty of their religion. 
lie says, that many pious Ministers <.f the 
word of God — some thousands of them, do 

now beg their bread;! and told me how 

highly the present Clergy do now carry them- 
selves everywhere, so thai they are hated and 
laughed at by every body; amongst other 

things for their excommunications, which they 

Bend upon the least occasion almost that can 
be. And 1 am convinced in my judgnu nt, 
not only from his discourse, but by my 
thoughts in general, that the present Clergy 
will never heartily go down with the generality 
of the commons of England. They have been 
so need to liberty and freedom, and they are 
so acquainted with the pride and debauchery 
of the present Clergy. Be gave me many 
Btoriesof the affronts which the Clergy receive 
in all place ind, fr >m the gentry and 

ordinary persons of the parish. He dot, -II 
me what the city thinks of General Monk, 

as a m »st perfidious man. that hath he' 
every body, and the kin-' also; who, as he 
think-, and his party, and BO 1 have heard 
Other good friends mi the kin.-- say. it might 

have he >n better for the kin- to have had his 
hands a little b >un I for the present than to 
bring in such a crew of poor people about him,* 



1 1„- reader ma A tab oonflrmed by the i: 

tor of Whitkirk, maj oon alt the Gentle 

man'i '• ■ ■■■ Wll, p. 22 and 210; and Wliitakcrs. 

(or WhaUej ip P ,JI - 

:: m i MS IB Ulfl Clitull 

Hum Paxil unentarianx ' 






Bud be liaMr to satisfy the demands of every 
one of them. Be tells me thai the king-, by 
oame, with all his dignitaries, is prayed for 
by thorn that they call ' fanatiques,' as heartily 
and powerfully as in any of the other churches 
that are thought better; and that, let the 
king think what he will, it is them that must 
help him in the day of war. For so generally 
they are the most substantial sort of people 
and ike soberest ; and did desire me to observe 
it to my Lord Sandwich, among other things 
that of all the old army notv you cannot see a 
man begging about the streets ; — but, what ? 
you shall have this Oapt. turned shoemaker — 
the Lieut, a baker — this, a brewer — that a 
haberdasher — this common soldier a porter ; 
and every man in his apron and frock, as if 
they had never done anything else. Whereas 
the other will go with their belts and swords, 
swearing and cursing, and thieving, and run- 
ning into people's houses by force, oftentimes 
to carry away something. And this is the 
difference between the temper of the one and 
of the other ; and concludes, and as I think, 
with some reason, that the sjiirits of the Old 
Parliament Soldiers are so quiet and so con- 
tented with Gods providences, that the king is 
safer from any harm meant him by them, one 
thousand times more than from his own dis- 
contented cavaliers. And then, to the public 
management of business, it is done, as he 
observes, so loosely and carelessly, that the 
kingdom can never be happy with it, every 
man looking to himself, and his own lust and 
luxury ; and that half of what money the 
parliament gives the king, is not so much as 
gathered, f And to this purpose he told me 
how the Bellamys, who had some of the 
Northern counties assigned to them for the 
Petty Warrant Victualling, have often com- 
plained to him that they cannot get it col- 
lected, for that nobody minds, or, if they do, 
they wont pay it in; whereas, which is a 
very remarkable thing, he hath been told by 
some of the Treasurers of War here of late, 
to whom the most of the £120,000 monthly 
was paid, that for the most months the pay- 
ments were gathered so duly, that they 
seldom had so much or more than forty 
shillings, or the like, short, in the whole col- 
lection ; whereas, now, the very Commission- 
era f<*r Assessments and Other pill "lie pay- 
ments, arc such persons, and those they 
choose in the country so like themselves, that 

from top to bottom there is qoI a man careful 

t The reader will see an instance of this hereafter. 



of any thing, or if he be, is not solvent — that 
betwixt the begger and the knave the king 
is abused the best part of his revenue. Mr. 
Blackburn further observed to me some cer- 
tain notice that he had of the present Plot so 
much talked of. lie was told by Mr. Rush- 
w< >rth how one Capt. Oates, a great discoverer, 
did employ several to bring and seduce others 
into a plot; and that one of his agents met 
with one that would not listen to him, nor 
conceal what he had offered him, but so 
detected the trepan ; j he did also insist 
much upon the cowardice and corruption of 
the king's guards and militia." — Vol. 1, p. 
2G1. 

Captain Oates, I am quite sure, never 
employed agents to " trepan" others ; but it is 
evident that this brave and unfortunate man 
was " trepanned" himself. Mr. Rushworth, 
certainly, must have been misinformed, or Mr. 
Blackburn must have been mistaken in this 
matter ; for had the Captain been an agent 
of the Government, it is not likely that he 
would have suffered, as we know he did. In 
short, there is nothing to depend upon in the 
latter part of this extract ; but much in the 
former part, which is, in fact, so interesting 
as to merit republication. It is an instructive 
and decisive document, and it should make 
people ashamed of themselves, who have 
reflected on the Protectorate government. 
" They have been so used to liberty and free- 
dom" says Mr. Blackburn, and the in- 
genuous Secretary of the Admiralty in 1663, 
re-echoes his words, — they have been so 
used to liberty and freedom," that Stuart, 
Priests, and Cavaliers will never go down 
with the nation again. And then the oppo- 
site spirit and conduct of the Republicans and 
Royalists ! Oh what a picture ! — what a 
contrast is here presented ! 

" Again," (under date of January 11th,) 
says Mr. Pepy's u by invitation at St. James's, 
where, at Mr. Coventry's chamber, I dined 
with my Lord Berkeley, Sir George Carteret, 
Sir Edwd. Turner, Sir Ellis Lay ton, and one 
Mr. Seymour, a line gentleman, § where was 
admirable good discourse of all sorts — serious 

X Upon the whole I am satisfied that this was, in fact, a 
Government Plot.— that Blood, of crown stealing notoriety, 
and other miscreants, were employed as stated hy Mrs. Hut- 
chinson, and that our unfortunate townsmen were the dupes 
of their satanic practices. See Evelyn, vol. 1, p. 413. 

S No doubt the same who is mentioned in the Life of Lord 
Russell, p. S(J a zealous Protestant, and a man of talent— 
appointed by the Commons for their Speaker in 1679, but 
rejected by the Court party, lie appears, however, to have 
been a man of no consistency, by his adhering, subsequently, 
to James. 






and pleasant. This morning I stood by the 
King, arguing- with a pretty Quaker woman, 
that delivered to him a desire of hers in 
writing. The King shewed her Sir J. Minnes 
as a man the fittest for her quaking religion, 
she modestly arguing nothing until he began 
seriously to discourse with her, arguing the 
truth of his spirit against hers, she replying 
still with these words — ' King !' — and 
thou'd him all along. The general talk still 
is, of Col. Turner, about the robbery,|| who it 
is thought will be hanged. I heard the Duke 
of York tell to night how letters are come 
th;;t iifteen are condemned for the late Plot, 
by the Judges at York; and, among others, 
Copt. Oates, ^ against whom it was proved 
that he drew his sword at his going out, and 
flii ging away the scabbard said, that either 
he would return victor or be hanged. 

"At dinner," lastly says Mr. Pepys, " we 
talked much of Cromwell — all saying he was 
a brave fellow, and did owe his crown he got 
to himself as much as any man thai ever yot 
one." 

It is quite manifest, from these minutes, 
that Captain Gates (as I before intimated) 
was a real, and not a pretended, conspirator 
— an unfortunate seduced, and not a wicked 
emissary. Gates. '• the discoverer," might 
possibly be his son Ralph, who, to save his 
own life, told all he knew of the Plot, and, 
perhaps, more. It is far from improbable 
also, 1 think, that Blood, who attempted to 
steal the crown out of the Tower in 1(171. 
was another informer, lie was certainly a 
spy of Charles's.— (See Evelyn's Memoirs, 

•11:;.) — Indeed, the Spy System- was never 

more encouraged, or more artfully conducted, 

than ninler this reign. 151 1, it appears, 

had even a pension allowed himf aboul L670. 
—See Biog. Brit. 2342.)— Doubtless he had 

no objection to " biuuil money" 

Bui the most remarkable passage, extracted 
as above, is the last, and it is the more 
amusing from the time in which it was 
written — scarce three years after the blessed 
"Restoration!!!" It contains a volume of 

II An account of it appears in the State Trials. Jle was 
banged. 

'■ The reader must be warned nol to confound the " Presby 
terian" with the "Popish Plot," In which the name of Titus 
Oates appears, as this did not happen till 1078. Our Captain 
Oates was called Thomas, and we have Mill a Thomas Oi 
in Morley, who, for bravery, does no discredit to bifl name. 

How early the Spy System prevailed In England, appears 

from the K.dl Expenses of Edward 1st, at Rhuddland < i 

in which is tins curious entry : "To a certain female 
■py, to purchase her a house, £1 Os. Od." 

t Pennant's London, 2C6. Evelyn, vol. l, p. 113. 'ArohaooL 
vol. 10, p, 71. 



meaning, and it applies itself so foieibly to 
the understanding, that comment is almost 
needless. — It La plain that at this dinner not 
only the character of Cromwell, personally, 

but that of his government, was freely CUS- 
cussed.| It was not merely the excellency 
of the man, but of the ruler and his govern- 
ment — it was not merely the wonders lie had 
achieved, but the benefits lie had conferred 
upon the nation, about which there was such 
perfect unanimity. Can any rational being 
doubt that these ••men in office" were con- 
trasting the past with the, then, present 
times ? or that bitter were the pangs which 
produced this concord? Ah no ! There was 
every thing in their circumstances and situa- 
tion to give them a wrong bias; but the 
dictates of conscience — the respect for truth 
— and a sigh for the departed glories of their 
country prevailed. 

But what, was this " crown" which Crom- 
well acquired ? Was it the crown which 
Blood stole out of the Tower, after his master 
had obtained it by bribery, by perfidy, by 
sycophancy, and by falsehood ? No ! That 
crown, though offered by the nation, he had 
the greatness to refuse. The crown of Crom- 
well was a crown of glory — conferred upon 
him by the common consent of mankind, and 
the general homage of Foreign States. With- 
out any appeal to arms or money employed, 
all Europe, involuntarily, bowed before it.§ 
The histories even of Foreigners shall pro- 
claim his title; and the crown u hr got to 
liimsrlf" while here on earth, I have no 
doubt he will ever wear, in the communion of 
" just men made perfect. "|| 

Saving presented the reader with all the 
accounts which I can gather of the " Farnley 
Wood I'lot," I shall now lay before him the 
result of many tedious examination of l>eeds, 

Equity Proceedings, and Original Documents 

long since losl and forgotten, in order that, 

the mystery of this transaction may be some- 
what dispelled, and the character of a man, 

great in his day, brought more fully out. 

Nor let any one be offended at my prolixity, 

\ Jams i the 2nd, when abroad, remarked, " that thr Enfttab 
catholics were royalists ; while thr Protectant! were the 
friends of Cromwell Life of Lord William Russell, p. 2... 
Burnet, \<>l. l , p. 118. 

^ Clarendon even i- forced to eay that " Cromwell'e great' 

i' homo was hut I lhadOW of the glory he bad abroad." 

Lppendix, letter " B." Bnrnet'e"Own Times 'p 

181, IUrri>, 407. Mapin. Ac Bee »U<> a fine Anen'ote of 

t romwell In Chandler's History of Persecution, p 

Bui st, especially, mi Interesting communication to the 
Gentleman's Magazine, (vol 61, p. 200) by • truly respectable 
pel 'ii whom I once knew, ami whose initials 1 recognise. 
Appendix, >^o. 0. 



to 



since many of my neighbours and our descen- 
dant* may feel a lively interest in a topic 
which has been variously agitated during the 
long period of one hundred and sixty years. 

As a necessary preliminary to what will 

follow, 1 must be allowed to carry back the 
leader, from the time wo refer to, about three 
or Four years. /. c — to the year 1659. In 
that unhappy year, as is well known, the 
reins of government dropped from the feeble 
hands which, for a moment, held them, into 
those of a Council torn by factions, fears, and 
jealousies, and ill prepared for the formation 
of a permanent Republic. The sad expedient 
of reinstating a worthless IT family, seemed, 
therefore, to be approved ; for the Presby- 
terian party, now the strongest in the state, 
had deserted their friends, their principles, 
and the u good c au se." Chiefly act u ated by 
resentment towards those who had checked 
their ambition and intolerance ; with a blind- 
ness, a baseness, and ingratitude which has 
but one parallel in the history of mankind, 
they threw themselves into the arms of their 
inveterate enemies, and bawled aloud for " the 
Restoration." For some time after the return 
of Charles " the desired''' the nation, as 
Burnet remarks, was "drunk and mad" — 
" a spirit of extravagant joy spread over it 
which occasioned the throwing off the very 
profession of virtue and piety." Yes! the 
deluded slaves shook their chains in triumph, 
and hailed the advent of legitimacy as the 
Eera cjf liberty ! How well do the events of 
this period illustrate a remark of the great 
Napoleon ! w * In revolutions," says he, "every 
thing is forgotten — the benefits you confer to 
day are no more remembered — the side once 
changed, gratitude, friendship, parentage — 
every tie vanishes, and all sought for is self- 
interest."** 

But God and man concurred to punish the 
apostacy of the times. -j-j A dreadful tempest 
which arose after the death of Cromwell, and 
was succeeded by a comet, gave fearful omen 
of those troubles which persecution, pestilence, 

* Lord Orford, Lord Byron, and Innumerable other great 
and Literary men have pronounced the same judgment. 
of them calls the smarts " a worthless and exploded family ;" 
ami Mr. b'ox's Historical Work displays tlio propriety of the 
former epithet. The reader may there sec who were Pen- 
- < \ upon the Court of Fram 

leon in Exile," vol. L, p. 82, bj B, B. O'Meara 

it See Pepye'a Diary, p. 315 this La under date L664, and is 

rchseologia, vol. 6, p. 82 ; and "God's 

'by Vincent, &c, Pepys's Diary, p. 

at f rosl . mow, and winds," says Evelyn ; "indeed 

ii hath l>*«n a year of prodlgh . war, 

lire, 1 1 and comet." Bee al o lallis'fl Letters, vol 

», p. 85, Second Si 



and fire were to bring upon the nation. So 
awful was the visitation of the plague alone, 
that it swept away near a hundred thousand 
persons: — the walls of the Metropolis had 
inscribed upon them in every part, " Lord 
have mercy upon us." Grass grew in the 
very streets, — where now only was heard the 
midnight cry of the funeral bellman — " Bring 
out your dead." Oh ! what a picture of horror 
does the narrative of these judgments present! 
— and oh ! how hard must have been that 
heart that was unmoved by them ! 

To return, however, to the point in view. — 
If the defection was so great, in 1GG0, as 
Historians* represent — if "Hollis was made 
a Lord \for his merits' in bringing about the 
Restoration " — if Annesley and Cooper — if 
Monk and Manchester were preferred to 
offices of trust, or invested with honours, on 
the like account — if some even of the Presby- 
terian Ministers were advanced f — nay, what 
is still more " passing strange," if Fairfax ! — 
the noble Fairfax! was so far cajoled as to 
ride at the head of three hundred country 
gentlemen through York, J with swords 
drawn and bareheaded, amidst the thunder 
of cannon, the ringing of bells, the illumina- 
tion of bonfires, and the shouts of the populace 
— if many were deceived by the promises and 
declarations of Charles, and others were cor- 
rupted by his offers, surely something may 
be said — not as an apology, but by way of 
palliation for inferiors wdio " sailed with the 
stream, and accepted the "candles ends" 
and "cheese parings" of his ministry. Among 
the number of these (my regard to historic 
truth compels me to confess, with grief,) was 
Major G-reatheed — the man of chief influence 
in this neighbourhood. 

It appears that in 1G62 the Major obtained 
the office of Collector or Receiver of the 
Kevenue arising from hearths and stoves, 
within the city of York, and West Riding of 
the County, along with Edward Copley, Esq., 
of Batley, and William Bait. Esq., of Barkis- 
land. This office it must be remarked, was 
not. at this time, in the gift of the crown but 
of the parliament, as appears by (he King's 
speech, in .March, L664. Sometime, however, 
after he had obtained it, tin 1 .Major became 

bound by bond to (he king, for securing his 

» Inter Alia. See Life of Lord Russell, p. 21. Drake. 
Burnet's " Own Times," vol. i,p 187—147. 

t This was just what, they wanted, and it will be a disgrace 
to their memories, but a jewel in the crown of Cromwell for 
ever. 

I Drake's York. 174; Pepye, vol. l. Evelyn, vol. 1, p. 310. 



11 



proportion of the sum of £2,650 payable to 

government, and for some half-years made 
good his accounts and payments ; bul having 
collected, and retaining in his hands, (as was 

alleged) the sum of £1334 3s. Od. al Lady- 
day, 1GG6, and refusing or neglecting the 
payment of this duty, the Earl of Danby, 
then Lord Treasurer of England, issued his 
warrant, directed to his Majesty's Remem- 
brancer of the Exchequer, to put the bond in 
guit; and an exienl issued, accordingly, 
against the real estate of the Major. On the 
31st of October. 1676, an inquisition was 
taken by the Sheriff, when it was found that, 
at the time when the Major gave his bond, 
lie was seized in fee of diverse lands and 
tenements in these parts. The Auditor, it 
seems, charged him with a debt of £3334 3s. 
but admitted the receipt, in respect thereof, of 
the sum of £2000, so that, in tact, there only 
remained due upon a balance, the sum of 
£1334 :>s. 0d. ; and of this there was an 
affidavit of the Major, and other proofs, that 
Batt, or his deputies, had in hand £1039 7s. 
which, with a surcharge upon Batt's officers, 
of £31 8s. Od. amounted to £1070 15s. 0d.; 
and it was alleged, and sworn, that £263 
8s. Od. was due from Copley; which, taking 
for granted its accuracy, would leave nothing 
to be accounted for. Indeed, the affidavit of 
;i Mr. Radcliffe, residing at that time at 
Bruntcliffe, put that matter beyond a doubt, 
I shewed that Batt anil Copley were the 
only real defaulters, and completely exonerated 
their colleague. 

It was probably this, and other similar 
defalcations of the day, which occasioned the 
passing of the act 20th of Charles 2ml. chap. 
2. making a sum of .£12 per cent., payable 
for all monies retained by Officers oi Revenue 

being defaulters; but it seems there had been 
some peccadilloes before times in the collec- 
tion of this branch of the Revenue : for even, 
in 1663, there was an additional act, "for 
the better ordering and collecting it." 

I cannot relate how this curious affair 
terminated, nor is if material to my history. 
It will be more amusing, as well as instruc- 
tive, to trace this singular Tax to its origin ; 
which 1 shall endeavour to do briefly, as I he 
subject is worthy of investigation. 

The Hearth Tax, commonly called ••Chim- 
ney Money," was imposed by bill, passed in 
March, 1662, or (as it is ludicrously § and 

* it appears to be a practice in England, at l< 
ait I it- reign ol Henry the 0th, for per on; who claim to govern 



"cavalierly" called)^ Who/ Claries 2nd !l 

It was not, however, strictly speaking, a new 
tax, but an old one revived. — The hint, at 
Least, was taken from the duty on fauge or 
fumage Laid upon his Norman subject-, by the 
Black Prince, after the dukedom of Aquitain 
was granted to him, and consisted of twelve- 
pence upon every fire; which duty was again 
derived from the well-known Tax. formerly 
paid to the Popes, under the name of " Pet 

Pence," being one penny for every chimney 

that smoked. The sum which this duty 
raised in Henry the 8th's time amounted to 
about B7500 per annum, and is said to have 
been more than doubled by the Hearth Tax 
of Charles 2nd ; by which every hearth and 
stove of every dwelling in England and 

Wales, except such as paid not to church 
and poor, was subject to a duty of two shil- 
lings per annum, payable at Michaelmas and 
Lady-day.|| This Tax. being loudly com- 
plained of as burthensome to the people, was 
commuted for the still worse Tax upon 
Windows, which began in the reign of 
William, and as so far extended as to have 
become one of the most oppressive of our 
national burthens. 

The Copleys and the Batts, with whom 
Major Great heed, in advanced life, appears to 
have been intimate, were families of BO much 
distinction hereabouts, in the seventeenth 
century, that it will enrich my Work con- 
siderably to notice them, however briefly; — 

for a more extended pedigree, 1 mu>t refer 

the reader to the MSS. Collections* in the 
Leeds Library. 

The first of the family of Copley recorded 

is Adam, who married Ann, the daughter of 

Thomas Rishworth, of RWhworth, near 

Halifax. lie bore — argent— a bend sabk — 

an eaglel displayed in chief vert, and a c 

Crossed in best of the Second. His motto 

was •■ Pngna me sub ('line.*' •• llr was slain 

at the siege Of York, under William the 

Conqueror. His cresl was a cup covered 

sable, and he left iSSUe a BOO Called Hugh." 

by divine right, and wholly in I "dl. 

thus to dab rnment and 

tempUble as ii i- absurd \ •' " * 11 

the horrors of Civil War Mid Anarchy, by their own stupidity 
and wickedness, these people, or their deaoendanl 
have governed in the place of fa > aols rulurs 

than tl Had the rebcllh u in 174 • pet 

. ould have seen s few more In ow 

statute Book although James abdicated the orown, and 
parliament appointed his 

Pepj , i I ' i 
These MSS i><- it. however, n< • iMe fot 

their omissions and partiality, as f"r t) • • and 

yiruli dxml manj • 

,, the) wi re offensive t>> tl 



[2 



Omit tii i ; 
pedigree, I 

Copley, of 



One of his descendants was thai Famous 
Robert Grostete (Greathead), Bishop of 
Lincoln, i whom I have before made men- 
tion, — k, ;t formidable scourge," as is well 
known, "to papal usurpation," and who died 
in 1258. 

the intermediate links of this 
shall take it up again, at Edward 
Batley, Esq., son and heir off 
A 1 vera Copley, of the same place, who 
married Dorothy, daughter of Sir William 
Mallory, of Ilalton Park, Knt. The virulent 
writer of the MS. collections in the Leeds Old 
Library, with more spleen probably than 
truth, J observes, that "he paid Oliver's 
leeches, to save his estate, twelve hundred and 
forty-six pounds." — Credat Judreus. If true 
however, this salutary mode of drawing blood 
was something- different § from that which 
was practised upon poor Leighton, Burton, 
Lord Win. Russel, Sidney, j| Lady Lisle, and 
innumerable other sufferers, by the Stuarts. 

To Edward, succeeded Alvera Copley, who 
married Elizabeth, daughter of Sir John 
Savile, which Elizabeth, married to her second 
husband, Richard Banks, Esq. Edward Cop- 
ley, Esq., of Batley, the person who, as I 
believe, was engaged in the affair of Heath 
Money, with Greatheed and Batt, was the 
second son, but heir of the last Alvera Copley, 
by his second wife, Beatrice, daughter of 
Adam Hilton, of Hilton, Esq. He married 
the daughter of a Mr. Butterworth, (Susan) 
by whom he had issue, a daughter ; but by 
his second wife, he had Frances, Edward, 
John, (who was Rector of Emley and Thorn- 
hill, and steward to Sir George Savile,) 
Elizabeth and Jane. He died in 167G — his 
son, John, in 1732. 

Since writing the above, I find from the 
small MS. collections of the late Richard 
Walker, Esq., of Ridings, near Birstal, that 

t Alvera Copley, of liatley, had a daughter "Issabel," who 
married sir Robert Savile, of Howley. He was a student of 
Lincoln's Inn, where he was burled, 5th of February, L598, 
:■ t. :'.:'». His son and heir, was the Edward, who married Miss 
Mallory, as above-mentioned. 

♦ I have several reasons for believing that this branch of the 
Copleys were averse to the despotism of the Stuarts, and not 
ill affected to Oliver. 

§ To say nothing, moreover, about Tines which were laid 
upon people, in the reigns of the Stuarts, on nu re suspicion of 
guilt, and where not a shadow of proof existed. Bee Bapin, 
vol. -.!. p. 17::, &c. fo. The e lines upon people, fomenting 
Civil War, were common in Henry the 7th's reign. See Ellis's 
Letters, vol. 1, p. B& 

|| The ease maybe found in BO common a publication, as 

the Gentleman's Magazine, sol 98, Pari Second, p. 17 :— or 
Hargrare's State Trials, vol i, p. L06, where the proceedings 

are at length. A more cruel and deliberate murder was nc\er 
perpetrated— one only parallel is to be found in history. See 
Hume, vol 4, p 213. 



1 am right in my conjecture; as this gentle- 
man (the Edward Copley, particularly alluded 

to) was living at Batley in 1G67. 

Edward Copley, if not a Barrister, was a 
Magistrate, residing at Batley Hall, the 
family seat; for I find one Thomas Lofte, 
clerk to him, buried in 1674, in the South 
aisle of the Church. It was, no doubt, to this 
Edward that Sir Thomas Gower addressed the 
letter mentioned by Capt. Hodgson, in page 
185 of his Memoirs. 

FAMILY OF BATT, OF OAKWELL. 



The family of Batt, of Oakwell nail, near 
Birstal, bore arms argent a cheveron — three 
Batts or rere mice sable displayed. 

The first of whom I find mention was 
Henry, who lived in the reigns of Henry 8th 
and Edward 6th, and died in the second of 
Mary. This gentleman purchased the Manors 
of Birstal, Heckmondwike, and Heaton, in 
Bradforddale. He seems to have had two 
sons — Henry and Robert, who was Fellow and 
Vice-master of University College, Oxford. 

Henry (the heir-at-law) appears to have 
been a most eccentric and unprincipled 
character. He was found by an inquisition,^ 
taken at Elland in the forty-third year of 
Elizabeth, to have appropriated to his own 
use monies which had been left with him, by 
the Vicar of Birstal, for erecting a School ; — 
also to have pulled down and sold the great 
Bell of Birstal Church,** and to have 
demolished the Vicarage-House, thentofore 
standing in the Church-yard; and a decree 
of compensation was made by Lord Ellesmere, 
the Chancellor, against his son John, in the 
second year of James the 1st. This man 
who, it was found, inherited great property, 
and was his father's executor, inherited also 
his principles ; for he had the coolness to 
convert the materials of the Vicarage into a 
dwelling upon his own land ; and he had the 
baseness, in 1642, to present Charles the 1st, 
when at York, with a hundred pounds of his 
si < den wealth, lie married Martha, a daughter 
of the Rev. T. Mallory, D.D., of Chester, by 
whom he had a son — John, drowned in the 
Irish Channel when returning with his father 
from Virginia. 

•| From MS. authority furnished me by my worthy friends 
at Birstal. 

This villainous act appears to have been done under 
colour of legality. See an explanation in stowe's Annals, p. 
1186. The destruction of Hells commenced with Henry 8th 
and his Reformers, and they were sold from a spirit of 
rapacity. Numbers unquestionably were sent abroad. See 
i:iii 's Letters, second Series, vol. 2, p. 140. 



43 



The other sons of Henry, the dilapidated, 
were William, Thomas, and Henry, the two 
last of whom were living in Virginia, in Kid?. 
He had besides two daughters — Elizabeth, 
who married Richard Marsh, D.D. (Dean of 
York) and Martha. 

William, the second son, succeeded to the 
family estates, and resided, as his brother and 
forefathers had done, at Oakwcll Hall. lie 
was the person who was Collector of Hearth 
Money with Copley and Greatheed. Ee 
married Elizabeth, daughter of William 
Horton, of Barkisland, Esq., and had issue 
from her William, Gledhill, John, Thomas, 
who died young, and sonic daughters. 

William (the son) was slain on his return 
from London, December the 9th, 1G8-1 ; but 
in what maimer seems now unknown. I low 
frequent assassinations * were about this 
period may be learned from Evelyn's Memoirs, 
p. 542, and serious duels f were as common. 

Gledhill died s. p. in 1G84-5 — his hand- 
writing I possess. 

John Batt, of Oakwell, Esq., married the 
daughter of — Metcalf, Esq., and died s. p. 
in 1707; — his widow married to her second 
husband, John Smith, Esq., of Heath, (near 
Wakefield) I believe. It will appear, here- 
after, why I am so minute in this pedigree. 

Such were the gentry with whom Major 
Greatheed received the sop, and made his 
peace, soon after the Restoration. They 
were certainly people of fortune — of ancient 
families, and of some consequence in this 
neighbourhood. I can only guess at their. 
principles from circumstances; but whatever 
they were, and though not a blot had been 
seen upon their escutcheons, it must needs be 
owned that, by the "Job" alluded to, his 
laurels, at least, became tarnished, who had 
been the follower of Cromwell, the favourite 
of Fairfax, and the friend of Lambert. 

It is not for his submission to the; govern- 
ment of Charles that 1 blame the Major, 
since that, 1 presume, was demanded by the 
public voice; but for his acceptance of a 
mercenary office under it. Had the then 
parliament and people of England thoughl 

[nation was a characteristic (if whal 
"loyalty" in the seventeenth century, i to have 

been in much later times. Dr. Dorislaus, Envoy to the Pai 
liament of Holland, wa ; murdered in 1649. Anthony Ascham, 

Ambassador at .Madrid, in 1650 ; and one of the viluana was a 

■ Mi df Lord Clarendon. Bradshaw, nephew to tin: 
lent, narrowly escaped the dagger at Copenha 

--■ * - 1 1 - I capes arc well known. 

t Even the mild and peaceable Lord William Russell 

appcur^ tu have been unseed in two duels. 



proper t<> have called t<> the throne a Calmuck 
Tartar, or a Cherokee Chieftain — nay. laid 
they even "placed the crown upon 8 
state," 1 sh<»uM have Baid, with the Kail of 

Surrey, in Henry the 8th's lime, that •• ii l 

his duty to defend that hedgestake ;"} — but 
in t: ing affair he clearly passed the 

limits <if patient acqoii ible 

submission. "Est Modus in rebus, Mint 
certi denique fines, Unas Ultra, citraque 
acquit consistere rectum." He became, un- 
wittingly perhaps, hut in fact, tin- partisan of 
Sniarr principles. He "passed the Rubicon." 

Being thus circumstanced, in 1663, it is 
Par from likely that the Major would he for- 
ward in the "Farnley Wood Plot," and his 

non-attendance at --the Trench." on the 12th 

of October, is thus easily accounted for. 
Perhaps ho was even distrusted by the con- 
spirators, though secretly nominated as their 
General in the event of an insurrection ; for 
it is natural to suppose a person holding 
office under the Government, would ho viewed 
with some jealousy. Indeed that he wa* 
much as though of is surprising, and can 
only be accounted for on the ground of his 
well known talents, bravery, Influence, and 
attachments. 

But that the Major was privy to this Plot, 

or that he wished ii SUC088S, there can be DO 
doubt; for he had more to gain than la- 
titat event. Acting, however, in this instance, 
with his characteristic wariness, he appears 
to have kepi aloof from the inferioi 
watching, and waiting, for the critical oppor- 
tunity. Finding, a: Length, that, by their 

heat and precipitancy they had thrown away 

the game, and had brought "an old 1. 

over their heads," he " raited." and made 
good his retreat without much amioya:. 
or, perhaps, 1 

Accordiii'- to all further information which 



! "When Rich, Solicitor to Henry Btl 
tyrant to sir Thoi with him on the 1 

Supremacy, he asked, In I i ;>t. whether 

Sir Thomas would not own for Ring any poreon whom 

If for example) who should have been dec! 
Parliament Hi Id. Rich 

I Un- 
church bo appolnti 

b 
be bound I Ami 

ten's Remain 

i that lie w i I him- 

self : for, i 

Ralph Oal 
i probably ho 

with 
could v.yuld 

.■.(I." 



I ! 



1 can collect, it appears thai the Major's con- 
nections in after l&e contributed little to his 

advantage in any way; and thai his sinking 
fortune was saved, For the most part, by the 
merit of his sons, who acquired, by purchase, 
the greater part of his estates.] 

We are taughl by this, amongst many 
other examples.)!' fallen greatness, the policy, 
if not the duty, of adhering to virtuous and 
patriotic principles, and to those who cherish 
them. To people wholly intent upon self- 
interest, the contrary course is generally most 
alluring, but it frequently ends in mortifica- 
tion, and always In disgrace. Had the Major 
been a consistent character — had he kept that 
company in advanced life which was the 
pride of his youth, he might have added one 
little star to that bright constellation which 
his times supply — his name might have been 
enrolled among the illustrious dead, and 
recorded honours might have graced his tomb 
— at all events the sun of his glory, which 
rose fair 1[ upon the plains at Adwalton, could 
never have set in clouds and darkness, even 
in the times of the Stuarts. 

Among the pictures of my family I have 
the good fortune to possess a miniature of the 
Major** — a three-quarters portrait of his son 
Samuel, and a full-length portrait of his 
grand-daughter; and, it is curious to observe, 
how admirably the physiognomy, in each 
instance, suits the tradition respecting- their 
characters. In the Major's jj is depicted the 
wily, thoughtful, desperate, and undaunted 
soldier — in Samuel's, the plain, peaceable, 
ordinary, country gentleman — in Mary's, a 
sweetness and an innocency which is quite 
compatible with her well remembered 
character. 

The iioxi person, in (he lirsl set of trustees 
of Morley Old Chapel, whom I shall particu- 
larly mention is .John Smith, who was a 
gentleman of some fortune and consideration 

in these parts. He lived at a line old house. 
like a baronial mansion, at the entrance into 
Gildersome from Morley, by the foot-path. 
Prom the remarkable intimacy which existed 
between him and the Major, one of whose 

II I have uracil reason for believing that the Major died 
poor. II': was, certainly, Bomewhat embarrassed towards tin; 

closi "i lii I I nspect, therefore, he had been heavily 

lined. 

- i As hereafter will lie related. 
I hope my frequent mention of Major General Greatheed 
will in- attributed t>> ■■< proper motive, and considered with 
candour, he being a first Trustee of Money Chapel, and pro- 
bably) Hi': \(i\ person who procured Its Lease. 

It Not unlike the portrait of Murat, as L'iven in Count 
Narrative. L2mo. Ed. 



daughters (Alice) married his son John, and 
from other circumstances, I happen to know 

that he was a staunch Republican. 

As it may not be generally known, it is 
allowable to mention, that amongsl the many 
extraordinary methods of raising money 
adopted by Charles the 1st. one was, by 
summoning people up to London to be 
knighted, and Imposing fines on such as 
refused antendance.* The requisition, I 
believe, were generally made upon such as 
were obnoxious to the court party, and it 
answered a threefold purpose. It raised 
supplies. It probed the principles of the 
suspected, and, it gratified the malevolence of 
the " Cavaliers." The demand, it is true, 
could only, with the least colour of legality, 
be made upon those who, like John Smith, 
enjoyed real estate of a certain value. Yet, 
even to such persons, it certainly was a most 
vexatious one, when the foundation of it is 
considered. 

Military service was a tenure by which 
most of the land in this kingdom, as we are 
told, was held down to the middle of the 
seventeenth century ; and is said to have 
grown out of a system of vassalage, called 
the " Feudal System." It was indeed such 
a system of degradation and extortion as 
could only have existed in ages of the most 
brutal ignorance. The luckless minor, inheri- 
ting a small patrimony, converted, perhaps, 
from a barren waste or a stinking bog, into 
good meadow, by his own wealth or the 
sweat of his forefathers, was then like a lamb 
among wolves. If his property was held by 
soccage tenure, of an inferior Lord, he was 
subjected to ignoble servitude and exhorbitant 
demands, upon pretences the most, futile; and 
if it amounted to what was called a Knight's 
fee,t or about twenty pounds per annum in 
the thirteenth century, and was held of the 
Lord Paramount, his condition was still 
worse; since, in addition to other feudal 
exactions, he Avas compelled to be knighted 
and become a soldier, or he had to pay a line 
in lieu of it. Such an order of things could, 
of course, only continue while the minds of 
inferior men were as vacant as those of their 
vassals, the oxen and asses which (hey drove; 
and. accordingly, we find that I heso claims, 

-; e EtUShWOrth'8 Collections, vol. 2, p. 70. 

t Ai Brsl lie was compellable to be knighted, unless lie 

eda Knight's fee, in L630 11 was forty pound land or 

mil by Ihe year, sec Etushworth, 70 and 215. However the 

mi in i).' regarded at first, it had become dreadfully 
oppressive in the Tudor reigns. 



I., 



and especially that of knight service, had 
long become obsolete, before they were 
revived by the haughty and rapacious 
Elizabeth, or her half-brother. What it was 
that induced their ministers to countenance 
such an arbitrary stretch of prerogative, if is 
needless to inquire; but what it was thai 
prompted this Queen to exert if, may easily 
be conceived J on referring to her well known 
character. I>e what it might, in the reign of 
her kinsman James,§ and especially Charles 
1st, the people were resolved to wear the y< >ke 
no longer, and he was compelled to yield up 
to necessity what he obstinately refused to 
entreaty. 

But there was another c< msideration, besides 
the foregoing, which made the imposition of 
knight service doubly odious. The king being 
the head, the governor, and guardian of the 
state, and having various officers and servants, 
chosen by himself, or otherwise employed 
under him, is supposed to have a watchful eve 
upon them, for the public good, and to be the 
best judge of their respective deserts. The 
law, therefore, regarding him in this light, 
and as "incapable of doing wrong," had 
intrusted him alone with the power of confer- 
ring dignities, in the perfect assurance that he 
will bestow them properly. All degree.-. 
therefore, of nobility or of knighthood were 
committed to the exercise of his discretion for 
a beneficent purpose — for the encouragement 
of virtue and talent, and not for the oppres- 
sion of the weak. 

When, therefore, Charles lsl and his 
ministers converted thai which was intended 
as a stimulus to a commendable ambition, 
into an engine of torture. — When, in the 
pretended exercise of a gracious prerogative, 
they indulged only in the petty feelings of 
private resentment, they dearly became guilty 
of a breach of trust, and polluted the very 
l * fountain of honour." 

Such, probably, were the feelings of Mr. 
John Smith when, of two evils laid before 
him, he chose the lesser, which was the pay- 
ment of a line, and taking a receipt for the 
money of Lord Strafford. This receipt is 
still, luckily preserved, by the care of a 
gentleman al < romcrsal, in whom is united a 
considerable knowledge <>f the law, and a 

! I mean bj those who have oot confined them i 
reading school histories, or such a deceptions work as that ol 
Ilium: ; hut Impartial, and especially antiquarian, I 

ailkBop c pared with Elizabeth, 

told hi* Pari iament that, " to dispute what a king mighl do 
In the height of his power was as seditious aa it was bu 
mow to dispute with God." 



commendable regard for matters of curiosity. 
Saving, in early life, been interested in the 
affair- of John Smith's descendants, and 
amused with the contents of the family 
papers, he knows something of his history, 
and agrees with me, in pronouncing him to 
have been a mosl steady and zealous Repub- 
lican. 

As 1 never saw the receipt alluded to, and 
am ignorant of its date, ii is possible that the 
father of Mr. John Smith (the Trustee) may 

have been the person who paid the tine. lb . 

1 am persuaded, fell al the battle of Adwalton 
Moor; I'm- in the Batley Register is this 
entry — "John Smith, of Grildersome, Benior, 
buried August 20th, L643," besides which. I 
perceive that John Co) .ley, Esq. (probably the 
elder brother of Edward before-mentioned, 
andeldesl sen of AJvera Copley,) was buried 

the day before; and I know there was an 

officer of thai name, on the Republican side, 
in the fight.1i Under all the drcumstaiK 
I think it almosl certain that these two 

gentlemen, with dolm Smurthwaito. of Morley, 

hereafter (o be mentioned, nil died in conse- 
quence of their wounds, alter lingering in pain 

a short time. My great, grout grandfather 
married a descendant of this last gentleman. 
There is but one other gentleman in tla- li-l 

of our firsl sel of Trustees of whom 1 have to 

make mention, and that one IS Mr. John 
Crowther. That he was an eminent merchant. 

and related to the Crowthers of Gildersome, 
is certain. With his hand-writing, occurring, 
as it dues, very frequently in my deeds ami 
papers, 1 am perfectly familiar; and having 

been struck with the similarity which there i-; 
between it and the lac simile of ;i John 

Crowther' s writing, exhibited in the Gentle- 
man's Magazine for 1 792, p. 689, 1 cannot 
help thinking, from this and other circum- 
stances, that the gentleman in question \ 
not a Kentish, but ;i Yorkshire man. 

The document referred 1m seems 1" ha\e 
been a petition to Oliver Cromwell, from 

certain merchants belonging t<» the Easl India 
Company, in L657, praying for ;i convo) to 
protect their ships homeward bound, and in 

•| See Lord Faitl 
ill- in mind « hose daughter it waa thai AJvera < oplej mai 
and tin- politics ..r the ti « . %\ i « > ramUj also, thai tlvera 

Edward, thi 
ceeded him. 

ii' any person should deem this mnotful, I will tell him 
that which Is a matt : the 

mwell himself, end wnicl 
to i'ih • -'"I ii I <H'l ni 

Oliver's hand, i could almi i weai II 
with lib wo I 



in 



danger From the Spaniards; and, it is remark- 
able, that upon it arc the very names of two 
or threef persona whom I know to have lived 
hereabouts, and been contemporary with John 
Crowther; and the fac simile of the signa- 
tures increases my suspicion. At all events, 
that of Crowther is so striking as almost to 
identify the writer. 

It is needless to say what was the indorse- 
ment of Cromwell upon this petition, come 
from whom it might. It was kind, con- 
siderate, and complying — quite in character 
with numerous documents relating to him to 
which I could easily refer, and which give 
the lie direct to all those tales which have 
been propagated by ignorance, duplicity, or 
malevolence.:}: 

In a former page I have remarked that the 
restoration of Charles 2nd was distinguished 
by the persecution, pestilence,§ and fire which 
sh< >rtly followed it. The two latter calamities 
I pass over, and shall touch very slightly upon 
the first; merely observing that our Old 
Chapel was at this time onee more fenced 
within the pale of the establishment, and the 
prayer book and surplice now appeared within 
its walls. It had been expected, by the 
Presbyterian party, that Charles would be 
improved by the lessons taught him in the 
school of adversity — true to his promises and 
declarations in favour of " tender consciences," 
and mindful of his obligations (to them 
especially) for the recovery of a crown. It 
was not, however, sufficient for them to be 
put on an equal footing with other subjects, 
as they had lately oeen, but they panted for 
exclusive dignities and emoluments under the 
sway of i: the desired" — Credulous ! — vain ! — 
short sighted men! — little did they dream 
what a scourge they were preparing for their 
own backs ! — little did they suspect that an 
individual would be proved to have been 
wiser than them all,|| and that lie whom they 
then called a "Usurper," had been their 
guardian angel — but the day of retribution at 
length came— the scales fell from their eyes, 
1 mean Michael Dawson, Robert EUlifi, .nut Richard Ford, 

the. l.i t. of whom was probably of the family of lords of 

Liversedge, hereafter mentioned under the word "Birstal." 
Letter " B" in the Appendix. 
it Ls a curious fact that Charl 

re pestilence. See Strype's Life of Aylmer, 
p. 184. 

Imagine, v, thin- of thi 

acters of Charles and James 2nd, and the history of their 

i doubt, for a in" iiperior sagacity of 

well over all the men who lived even in his age. Even 

i, Lambert, Falkland, Fleetwood, and Vane, cut but a 

poor figure to CromweU in political foresight. Thurloe, that 

great man, who would not accept an oflice under the Stuarts, 

done like him in this reject. 



and they wept for that protection and peace 
which returned no more. 

Yet not to the Presbyterians only did the 
persecutions of the times extend, but they 
reached also every other class of dissenters, 
— the former, however, were the greatest 
sufferers.1T Numbers of these men, antece- 
dent to the Restoration, had got into good 
livings, and were the most popular preachers 
in the nation. " They were learned, pious, 
orthodox, divines," says the celebrated Locke, 
" who did not throw themselves out of 
service, but were forcibly ejected by the Act 
of Uniformity — they were treated," says he, 
" with the greatest severity, being reduced to 
the necessity of begging, or starving, or get- 
ting their bread as they could — they were 
driven from their houses and the society of 
their friends, and what was still worse to 
them, from their usefulness, though they had 
merited much from the king, and had laboured 
indefatigably for his restoration." "Many 
of the ejected ministers," says the excellent 
Bishop Burnet, " were much valued and dis- 
tinguished for their abilities and zeal, — they 
cast themselves upon the providence of God, 
and the charity of their friends, which had a 
fair appearance, as of men who were ready to 
suffer persecution for their consciences. This 
begat esteem and compassion, whereas the 
old clergy, now much enriched, were as much 
despised." 

To illustrate, by way of instance, these 
great authorities — to prove such positions as 
will be laid down in a subsequent page, and 
to shew the reader what probably occurred in 
our Old Chapel** after the u happy Restora- 
tion," I shall now copy for him a few extracts 
from the AVhitkirk Register, taking for 
granted their correctness, as given to the 
public by a former Vicar. f f 

" 1GG7. — Given to a poore old Minister 
ivho preached licre, June 2nd, 3s. Gd. Charges 
at several times upon several Ministers who 
'preached here, 3s. (Id. 

"1GG8. — Charges upon Mr. Bennington 
and some friends of his when lie preached here 
att Christ masse, 2s. 2d. 

" Bestowed in ale upon a poore Preacher 
that preached here, Gd. 

•| I perceive that .some of the Hooks of our day would decry 
men, but the antidote to their poison may bo found in 
Godwin, vol. 4, p. oS. 

>• accounts of Mr. Nesse, Mr. Dawson, and others, 
In the subsequent pages. 

H tt was the Rev. S. Smallpage who communicated these 
interesting particulars to the editor of the Gentleman's 
Magazine. See vol. for iili, p. 82. 



17 



"1669. — Given to a poore Minister who 
preached here, at the Church, April 25.th, 5s. 
Bestowed on him in ale, 4d. 

" Feb. 13th, 1669.— Collected then, by the 
Churchwardens, in the Church upon a testi- 
moniall, and at the request of the Lord Bishop 
of York, for one Mr. Wilmot, a poore 
Minister, 8s. 4d. 

"May 16th, 1675.— Collected then, in the 
Church, upon a letter of request, brought by- 
Mr. Francis Fowler, of Bungay, in the County 
of Suffolke, a poore distressed Minister, which 
was given to hiiu May 17th, 1675, 5s. 7d. 
ob. 

-April 10th, 1670.-- -Given then, by the 
neighbours, to a poor mendicant Minister, one 
Mr. John Rhodes, who then preached here, 
and after sermon stood in the middle He to 
receive the- charity of the people, the summe of 
12s. 3d. 

July 3rd, 1670. — Given then, by the neigh- 
hours, to a poore, lame, itinerary, one Mr. 
Walker, who then preached here, and, after 
the sermon, stood in the middle He to receive 
the people's charity, which was 9s. 3d. 

"Nov. 30th, 1670.— Given then, in the 
midle ile of the Church, to a poore mendicant, 
itinerary, lame, Priest, one Mr. Walker, who 
had preached here, the 3rd of July, 70, and 
preached again this day, the summe of 3s. 6d. 

"July 30, 1671.— Given then, in the midle 
ile of the Church, by the neighbours, to the 
afore-named Mr. Walker the mendicant, 
itinerary, lame Minister, who had been here 
several times before, and did then preach, the 
summe of 6s. 3d. 

As three, at least, of the ejected Ministers 
are interred in our burial ground, and I shall 
have something to relate of others who were 
Ministers, or preached at the Old Chapel, my 
reason for expatiating on these sad times, 
will be evident. But, independent of this 
consideration, where is the reader so devoid 
of feeling, or curiosity, as not to be interested 

For a picture of 1C64, take the following from Clarkson's 
Richmond : — 

" Given to Captain James Maxwell, with a pass for him- 
■elf and children, Od. (No doubt an old Republican ofllci r > 

"Given to .Mrs. Lacy, her three children, and maid ; and to 
rard, with livechildren, who had a pass, Is. 

" To Lieutenant Young, who had a pass from Oxford, Is. 

" To one Mr. Philip Musgrave, a poor gentleman, Od." So 
much for the 29th of .May and Oak branche 

Just by way of shewing to what extent the persecution 
r e a c h e d , and to remove a considerable load of misrepresents 
taftton, take the following entrii 

•■ Christopher Rudston, M.A., buried 13th Julj L6S5. 

"Charles Procter, M. A., succeeded, Inducted 30th Novem 
■ . ejected or resigned In 100] " w b.H 



ni such a disclosure as this? Where is the 
man whose hear! does nol burn within him at 
such a narrative ? 

So much has been written upon the Bubjecf 
of the ejected Ministers, that it would 
giving a dry detail t-» recount their troubles 
down to the time of William 3rd, when 
Toleration Act relieved them, lhit the- 
one thing worthy of being held in "ever- 
lasting remembrance" — theirpastoral fidelity, 
piety, and firmness, during the awful visita- 
tion of the plague.f It was at this d 
trying period, that the difference v 
betwixt them and the Conformist 8, who now 
deserted their pulpits, and their flocks, both 
in town and country, leaving them to the 
care of their propel' Pastors, Eow forcibly 
are we reminded, in the narrative of t 
times, of that significant declaration — " 1 am 
the good Shepherd — the good Shepherd 
giveth his life for the sheep — hut he that LB 
an hireling, and not the Shepherd, whose oini 

the sheep are not, seeth the wolf COmetfa and 
lleeth ; and the wolf oatcheth. and -cattereth, 
the sheep. The hireling fleeth because h 
an hireling, and careth not for the sheep. I 
am the good Shepherd, and know my shi 
ami am known of mine." 

It has been invidiously remarked, that 
"Priests are the same in all ages and coun- 
tries," and, undoubtedly, in a collective new, 

their courtly sycophancy and w< >rldly-niinded- 

ness has given plausibility to the sarcasm. 

To the memoirs, however, of the ejected 

Ministers, the Layman CSU exultindy point, 
and say with one of old — "See how those 
Christians lived." Here wo behold two 
thousand men giving the surest proof of sin- 
cerity in the Christian warfare. Of them it 
is nol merely to be related that "they took 

joyfully the spoiling of their and 

t riumphed under cruel mockings — under b mdfl 
and imprisonment ;" but that life Itself was 

lighted, when conscience commanded. To 
them, indeed, death appears t" have had no 

stiii--, and the grave no tenors. They looked 
on this world as a "sea of troubles — they 

Considered death as their haven of POSt, and 

the}- sighed for heaven ;>s their "native 
home." i 

I We have a parallel t" tin-* in the 

'. [,- t>, \ an li:iu • I. if-' "f '«'* wlill. . vol. '.'. ]. •.•>. 

; Banyan, one of tin- nobli 
(tin, 11 ■! but confined ' ■• 

Jail), 1 beautiful allegory of the I "groat 

with a 

ii, in-,-, nil pi. . nt situation h the 

wiklerne lofthl world, aj he, "] lighted on a pertain 



18 



T<> return again, more immediately, to the 

Subject of I if Old Chapel. 1 must here relate, 
as in the m «1 appropriate place, a singular 
discovery which was made in it about four- 
teen years [\go. A person being employed to 
whitewash this Chapel, and finding the walls 
much Mistered, was proceeding to make free 
use of his scraper, when, lo! under several 
coats of whitening, some letters in an old 
character, began to appear, but nobody on 
the spot could decypher them, or even guess 
at their meaning. Fortunately I had returned 
home jnst in time to prevent their being' for 
ever obliterated; and, after much labour and 
care, not only succeeded in making them out, 
but had them restored in their proper size, 
character and situation, with the antique 
scrolls also wherewith they had been encom- 
passed. My trouble, in this concern, was 
amply compensated by one inscription, which 
confirmed some former suspicions, and threw 
a light upon the history of the Chapel. It is 
a verse out of Proverbs — " My Son, fear 
thou the Lord and the King, and meddle not 
with them that are given to change." Now, 
as the royal coat of arms is still remaining 
in its original place, with the letters " C. R." 
on each side of the crown, and also above the 
lion's head, and the date underneath the 
whole is 1664, who can be so stupid as not 
to perceive at what period, by what party, 
and for what purpose, this monitary text 
was put up ? For my own part, I have no 
doubt that it was levelled at Major Great- 
heed, Captain Oates, and all those who had 
been privy to the " Farnley Wood Plot," the 
year before, and it might also be intended as 
a rebuke to the Republicans throughout the 
land. 

As this volume is intended to embrace, as 
far as his consistent, those curious and inter- 
esting notices which are only to be collected 
by various and extensive reading, and the 
mention of these inscriptions affords me 
opportunity, I shall here enrich my Work by 
the following extracts : — 

"From Howe's Edition of Stowe's Chronicle," 
as mentioned by Mr. Brand, "-it appears, 

that on the 17th of November, 1547, (2nd 
Edward 6th) was begun to be pulled down 

the Roode in Paul' 8 Church, with .Mary 
and John, and all other [mages in the 

Church, and then the like was done in all the 

place where there w.is a den." How much meaning In a 
small compass ! He was. at first, a BOldiei <>n t lie side of the 
parliament. 



Churches in London, and so throughout 
England ; and texts of Scripture were written 
upon the walls of those Churches against 
images." 

In "NicholPs Progresses of Elizabeth," 
also is this passage, "The Queen caused the 
churchwardens and clergy to wash out of 
the walls, all paintings which seemed to be 
Romish, and in lieu thereof suitable texts out 
of the Holy Scriptures to be written." Be- 
fore these reigns* crucifixes were generally 
delineated on the walls of Churches. f and, 
probably, before crucifixes, but, certainly, 
during the middle ages, figures of Saints and 
descriptions of their martyrdoms under the 
Roman Emperors were common ; but to pro- 
ceed with my description. 

Above a little window, on the North-east 
side of the Chapel, is another verse — " Blessed 
are the peace-makers, for they shall be called 
the children of God," — a fine text, truly, to 
be exhibited by a party who had peace only 
in their months, and persecution only in their 
hearts — a violent, and unfeeling set, who, at 
this time especially, were oppressing the 
consciences and disturbing- the quiet of their 
fellow creatures to the utmost of their 
power. 

On the same side of the Chapel, and West- 
ward, the inscription is — " Lord I have loved 
the habitation of thy house, and the place 
where thine honour dwelleth." Xext follows, 
on the North Avail, a verse from Micah — 
" He hath shewed thee, man, what is good, 
and what doth the Lord require of thee but 
to do justice, to love mercy, and walk humbly 
with thy God." And next to this — " Remem- 
ber now thy Creator in the days of thy youth," 
&c. Just above this was once the Lord's 
Prayer, but so much had it been demolished 
by the underdrawing of the Chapel, that it's 
restoration probably was impracticable. On 
the other side of the king's arms it was 
discovered that there had formerly been the 
Apostles' Creed, but that also had been too 
much injured by the back board of the pulpit 
to be replaced ; and over the whole it seems 
there once had been the Commandments,^ 
fragments of which were long remaining in 

See Archnologla vol. 16. Appendix, p. 405. See also No. 
3 in the Appendix to tins volume. 

I See Dyson's Mag. iirit. vol. 2, p. 4f>7. Gent's Mag. for 
L800, p. 1181. 1 find an instance of these texts being put up 
BO late as I71<>. See Gent. Mag. for 1815, p. 495. And I saw 
Grassmere or Bownesa Church with its walls inscribed in this 
maimer only last autumn, L828. Aubrey, indeed, tells us that 
they were anciently written on painted cloths, in the halls 
and parlours of great houses 

I lent 3 Mag for 17;';.. vol 85, p. 905. 



49 



the false roof— but, leaving the Chapel for a 
short time, let us now resume the account of 
its Ministers. 

From the time of Mr. Wales, of whom I 
have made mention, and who undoubtedly 
was the Pastor here in Jam eign, 1 

cannot trace even the name of a Minister 
down to the year 1662; bul ab >utthis period 
I find that -one Mr. Etherington, who had 
conformed, left Morley, and succeeded one 
Mr. Bovil, at Bramley."§ This is all the 
little that I ran state respecting him, and 
that little, alas ! is very discreditable to his 
memory. 

The next person whom 1 find officiating at 
Morley. butwhether in the Chapel or Meeting- 
houses it is now imp issible to ascertain, was 
one Christopher Nesse, who being chosen by 
our Townsmen as their Paster, approved 
followed by them generally, and not forced 
upon them by the Stuart Government, 1 con- 
sider as the first of thai long line of pi 
learned, and popular Ministers, of whom we 
have some authentic memoirs. 

-The Rev. Christopher Nesse, M.A.. of 
St. John's College, Cambridge, was the son of 
Thomas Nesse, of North Cave, in the East- 
Riding of Yorkshire, where he was born, 
December 26th, 1621, and educated undei 
Mr. Seaman. 11 

Cambridge, he retired into the country during 
the Civil War, and preached for a whili 
Cliffe Chapel under the i his 

ancle Brearcliffe, an < uiinent di 
i North Caw. Prom tb 
•ill to Ilolderness, an 
few years, to Beverley, whore h< 
school and pr< ached occa ionally. Dr. W inter 
being electe I Provost of Trinity Coll 
Dublin, resigned to Mr. N r esse his living ol 
Cottingham, near [lull, where he was instru- 
mental," says Dr. Calamy, ■■ ; n tin 
sion of many souls, particularly Thomas 
Raspinl (one of the most substantial pe »ple 

in the town) when grey hairs were upon him. 

he was called to Leeds, 
where also many had cause to blesa < ; "d for 
him. From the year 1656 to L660, he 
!turer to Mr. Styles, and upon his d< 
Dr. Lake afterwards Bishop of Chichester, 
with whom there was very uncomfortable 
clashing, and whal was delivered in 

| Bee 1" I alamj I .Memorial. 

«, M\ grandmother, on the paternal ride, m I 
■omehow related to this gentleman ; and t>: the Influence ol 

the family, Mr > ibably drawn to Blorlej 



morning was confuted in tin* afternoon; till 
August, L662, when Mr. Nesse '• ted 

informity, preached in private, h 
appears from his own narrative, in a work 
called • The Divine Legacy,' that the Duke of 
Buckingham would Deeds have complimented 
him into conformity. Upon the pat 
the Five Mile A.ct (31st October, 1665), he 
retired to Clayton and from thence to Morley. 
When the times grew more favourable he had 
a h<»usc of his own at Eunslet, where he 
instructed youth, and preached in private till 
K572. when the main Riding-house being 
converted to a Meeting-house, he preached 
publicly there to a numerous auditory. Hav- 
ing been three limes excommunicated, upon 
the fourth, there was issued oul a writ de 
excommun. rap", to avoid which, he removed 
to London in 1675, and there preached to i 
private congregation. Be died, December 
26th, l7o."). aged 84, and was buried in Bun- 
hill Fields."— So Far Dr. Calamy. 

In the Register of Topcliffe, near Morley, 
hereafter to be noticed, in this entry 
"Brother Mr. Nesse Leeds, admitted into 
Church Fellowship, April lMm. 1661— dis- 
missed to Leeds." 

The three Lasl word- are written in palci 
ink. and by another hand. 1 find he had B 

(Christopher) baptised at 'Pope!' 
9th, 1661;— a daughter, (Hannah) May L8th, 
,. ;i iid Elizabeth, October 17th, L671 i 
after whose entrj Mowing minut 

" Uanuali Rl IcWld ol 

►wned it as his own, and sued 
and the privilege of baptism, 

uncle • up :,v Qia own i ;i 

n [ig • and education, was then 

bapj December, 1671, 13th 

November, 71.*' 1 insert this as honourable 
to an old Minister.— Now for an accom 
l,]iii by " John Dunton, Citizen of London,' 1 
in a curious work, published a f< 
by Nicholls. 

' •• Mr. \,. „■.•' saj - Dunton, " a man of 
considerable learning, but who labours under 
some unhappiness in his style. He 
wiitt.-n many practical Tn published 

a Church History, in OCt»VO,< and an K\p.'-i- 

,i, (I1 on the whole Bible.— He wrote for 
t ne life of Po] e Innocent l Lth, of which the 
whole impression sold off in two weeks. EGs 
conversation is both pl easant and infonning. 

• I possess this very scarce book, and agree with DlU 

tot!, " -", ' h ".(J 

much Learning had mad* him wy Dedication;- 



50 



He continued to preach privately in the 
darkest times." 

The times to which Dunton here refers 
were, unquestionably, between JG02, when 
the Act of Uniformity passed, and 1 672, when 
the first indulgences were granted. Now, 
Hiiiv Mr. Nesse came to Morley after 1GG5, 
when the persecution was at its height, and 
left it about L671 or 2, his residence here 
was very short. It seems very singular that 
he should have come to Morley at all ; for, 
after the Five Mile or Corporation Act passed, 
it is natural to suppose his officiating- here 
would be dangerous, as coming within that Act. 
This circumstance alone would convince me 
that Mr. Xesse preached here privately, and 
not at the Chapel, but the Meeting-houses ; 
when, however, I recollect the Whitkirk 
Register 1 am confounded. 

Upon the whole, however, the inclination 
of my opinion is, that Mr. Nesse did not 
preach at the Chapel, or, if he did, it was but 
occasionally.! The Chapel, evidently, was at 
this time in the hands of the Churchmen, 
whatever may have been penned in ignorance 
or carelessness, either by Dr. Whitaker or his 
Copyists, to the contrary; and if .Mr. Nesse 
was allowed to preach here it must have been 
by sufferance of the Vicar of Batley, and 
occasioned by circumstances which are now 
unknowm. 

The next person whom I find officiating 
here is one Mr. Thomas Sharpe, M.A., of 
Clare Hall, Cambridge, cousin to Archbishop 
Sharpe, and a Pupil of Tillotson's. He seems 
to have been a very great, as well as a very 
good man. Indeed, the celebrity of that 
family for talents has been handed down to 
Late times. Dr. Calamy (to whose work I 
refer the reader) says, that in 1 G72 he took 
nut, a license, and preached in his own house. 
whither greal numbers resorted, and that he 
afterwards preached at Morley. It is not 
clear from tins whether ho was a stated 
Minister or a casual supply ; but, whichever 
was the <■:>-<% his ministry here was short, for 

we find by a tombstone in the Chapel Yard. 

♦ hat "on the 6th <»f !)<•<■.. L675, Mr. Samuel 
Bailey died, who was Pastor of Morley and 
Topcliffe;" and, consistently with this, we 
arc told by Calamy, that when one Mr. 

StrettOD removed to London, (which was iii 
1677) Mr. Sharpe succeeded him in the con- 

\ I'.S. The fact seems to ho this. The ejected Ministers 
being very popular, and much respected, and pitied generally, 
were allowed to prtach in some churches and chapels, though 
they refused to officiate in any other part of the service. 



gregation at Leeds. From this it should 
seem that he supplied, only, at Morley, and 
had ceased to do so before the election of Mr. 
Baily. 

There is, fortunately, preserved to us an 
Old Register, which once belonged to the 
Society of Independents, (or Congregation- 
alists, as they were often denominated,) at 
Topcliffe, near Morley, and which contains 
an account of their baptisms, burials, church 
affairs, disbursements to Ministers, and 
various other particulars. To me it has been 
the most interesting document that chance 
has thrown in my way, as touching the Non- 
conformists of the seventeenth century, and 
from it I shall put down a few particulars, 
for various reasons; but more especially 
because, under Mr. Baily, that congregation 
seems, for a short time, to have united with 
the Presbyterian body at Morley. 

It appears from this Register, that one 
Christopher Marshall was pastor of Topcliffe, 
from 165G to 1G73 ; and that on the 25th of 
March, L674, Mr. Baily was elected Pastor, 
and one Gamaliel Marsden, Teacher: both 
having been admitted into communion with 
that Church, Nov. 19th, in the preceding 
year; — that after a lapse of only eighteen 
months. Mr. Baily died, and was succeeded 
by Mr. Marsden, who died Minister of Top- 
cliffe (only) in May, 1681 ; — that from thence 
till 1(584, that place was supplied by Mr. 
Josiah Holdsworth — Mr. Jolly,:): and other 
ejected Ministers; — that down to 1709, Mr. 
Thos. Elston was the Pastor, upon whose 
removal to Chesterfield, Topcliffe was again 
visited by supplies down to 1714, when one 
Mr. Riley was Pastor, and continued so till 
1727 ; — that, at this period, he was succeeded 
by a Mr. Lax, who remained here till 1736, 
and seem to have been the last Minister. 

To avoid confusion, it will perhaps be as 
well, in this place, to continue my narrative 
of Topcliffe Society, before I return to the 
kindred branch ai Morley. 

About L736, it appears, a Meeting-house 
was built upon Lee Fair, Upper Green, by 
the same class of Dissenters as had flourished 
at Topcliffe, the Chapel, at this place, being 
converted to a dwelling. The cause of this 
change seems evident. Topcliffe had been 

♦ From an Inquisition taken at Ulackburn, 25th June, 1650. 
and now in the Library at Lambeth, it appears that Mr. Jolly 
was, in L650, settled at Altham, in the Parish of Whalley, in 
Lancashire, Where he was receiving £10 per Annum from the 
Kectorv, and £30 from the Commissioners. He is styled "An 
Able Divine." Whitaker's Whalley, vol. 1, p. 1215. 



5] 



resorted to considerably by our villagers, till 
the beginning of the last century, and pro- 
bably after the passing* of the Five Mile Act 
was the chief refuge of our Ministers, as well 
on account of its privacy as for escaping the 
penalties of that Act ; — but when the storm 
subsided, and more especially after the Becond 
revolution, the scattered flock was collected 
within its ancient fold. The funds, therefore, 
of Topcliffe Society, arising from quarter!} 
collections, became, as indeed the Registei 
shews, quite inadequate for its uecessary ex- 
penditure, and a removal to a more populous 
district was expedient. 

But, besides that the weigh! of the Top- 
cliffe interest now lay entirely 0D the Bide of 
Woodchurch, there was another motive for 
this removal. "Pastor Elston" had, on the 
3rd of February, 1685, married Miss Mary 
Pickering, granddaughter of Captain Thomas 
Pickering, an old Republican Officer, who had 
lived in this neighbourhood; and hi- son, Mr. 
John Pickering, had both given the Church 
at Topcliffe, a handsome piece of ground, at 
Tingley, for a burial-place, and had wholly, 
or partly, built a wall around it, at his own 
expense. Convenience, therefore, required 
that the Minister's House, the Chapel, and 
Burial Ground, should be broughl as near as 
possible together; and, accordingly/ when the 
lasl Minister, Mr. Hesketh, was chosen, « 
Souse and Chapel was built for him on the 
Cpper Green. He died about 1 743, leaving 

behind him nothing but his name to the house 

(now a cottage) and to a lane near it. for the 

dissenting interest there, for want of an 

adequate population, and from the poverty of 
the neighbourhood, became extinct. 

The heads of families in the Society at 
Topcliffe, from 1668 to L688, may be 
averaged at about thirty in number, the chief 

of whom was " Madame Elizabeth Uokely ,' 

Captain John Pickering, Mr . Spencer, Mr. 
Isaac Balme, Mr. John Wadsworth, and a 

Mr. Samuel Craister. respecting whom 1 find 

the following entry, marking the severity of 

the time-. 

11 Oct. 31st, 1677. Mr. Samuel Craister, 
excommunicated for drunkenness, at Selby, 
Leeds Pudsey. — an iniquity too frequent with 

him."' 

Now, the collections did but average, quar- 
terly, about six pounds, and this gentleman 

Btr Gilbert Plokerinf, Baronet, and Colonel John Ploker 
rthamptonehire, bunUiei wen' eotlvfl parti 

staunch supporters of Cromwell Bm O, M IBS I 



was a chief subscriber, 1 have only to add 
that. a> his name does not afterwards appear, 
either he left these Congregationalists, or they 
marked his "iniquity" more forcibly than is 
usual, for worse . in our tunes. 

In 1714, when the Whitakere and Dawsons 
were the chief families at Topcliffe. 1 would 
jusi note by the way, wine was per bottle, 

L8. 6d. — a leg Of mutton COSl 1 8. 3d. — and 

what was called a " Quishing"| tor tin* pul- 
pit. I Ls. 

For some years after the demolition of the 
Chapel on Lee Fair Green, those pen 

whose relations had worshipped here, or ;tt 

Topcliffe, occasionally interred their dead in 
the neglected Burial Ground. Tenderly alive 
to those sympathies which, if they form not 
a part of our common nature, seem almost 
inseparable therefrom, — they preferred the 
and trouble of bringing them to this 
solitary spot, to the conveni an easier 

and Bpeedy interment. 

Whatever may be the suggestions of philos- 
ophy and of reason, or the \aunt of man. 
while in his strength ; in age, and. especially, 
in sickness, the impulses of nature will be felt. 
To a feeling mind, the anguish most keen, is 
that which the sting ol death inflicts, T 
berefl of those, whose virtues or talent-. 
whose endearments, innocence. or beauty, ! 
held an empire in the heart, i- like the very 
breaking up of om- existence, and ^i\vu indeed 

Occasions it. SOW natural then the desire of 
man that, when carried to the grave, he 

should mingle his dual with those whom he 

loved, admired, or revered — whose pie-clue 

seemed accessary to his complete felicity. 

even in heaven, and whom he hopes to be 

severed from only for a short BeasotL, Talk 
of "Consecrated Ground," indeed] — but, 01 

what Bpot does man regard like that which is 
hallowed to him from infancy, as the 

Sepulchre of his Fathers ': 

There have been, however, in all a-es, men, 
so destitute of sympathy, as to resemble the 
••\er\ brute- that perish," and, accordingly, 

we lind that about the middle of the la-t 

century, one of the Hesketh family sold the 
Burial Ground at Tingley, to an ancestor of 
the Rev, Mi. w I, of Tingley House,} who, 

out of it, enlarged hi- plantations, and, having 
Bome fish ponds dug about the -kin- of it, 

| Thlfl ffH UM uiii-uiit pHNMUM •i.itmn of i-usliiuii . 

i mi wi> ut.u Informed, bi o f e.>- Ffertrtth fimHj. 

that there «a« an express ondtfUndlng that the fi . 

not i«- v mi i\ 



52 



strange havoc hag been made anion-- the 
bones of the dead. The few tombstones 
remaining, Borne broken, and all in disorder, 
shew, plainly, how they have been tossed 
about, and )\\>t left where accident has casl 
them : besides which, there are none of th 
risible, which I have repeatedly soughl with 
some eagerness. I mean the slabs which I 
must have been Laid over the remains of these 
excellent men, Christopher Marshall, Gamaliel 
Marsden, and Josiah Holdsworth. Should 
they, at some future period, be discovered at 
the bottom of a fish pond, or covered with 
rubbish, and should the owner of the property 
be animated with that kindly and liberal feel- 
ing which adorns the present possessor, they 
will certainly be restored to public view. 

"The Rev. Christopher Marshall, ejected 
from Woodchurch in 1662, was Minister there, 
under the protectorate of Cromwell, in 1656. 
He was bom in Lincolnshire, and educated, 
partly at Cambridge and partly at Boston, in 
New England. He was a Congregationalist 
— a good scholar, of considerable abilities, 
and of a serious spirit, but inclined to mel- 
ancholy, meeting with many personal and 
domestic afflictions. After being ejected, he 
lived privately among his people, in a house 
of his own. Upon the Five Mile Act he 
went to live at Horbury,§ but returned again, 
and preached privately." 

It does not appear, from the Register, what 
interruption he met with; but Dr. Calamy 
informs us, " he was imprisoned, with several 
of his brethren, on account of a plot, but 
came clear off, there being nothing found 
against him." This, I am confident, was the 
" Parnley Wood Plot," to which most of the 
ejected Ministers here were privy, especially 
Gamaliel Marsden, and his brother Jeremy. 
It is manifest that the former escaped to 
Holland on account of it, but that many of 
his cloth were arrested, and, amongst others, 
Mr. Thomas Jolly, and Mr. Root. Mr. 
Marshall died in February, l»>7:i. aged 51).* 

"The Rev. Gamaliel Marsden ejected from 
Chapel le Brears, near Halifax, and a Fellow 
of Trinity College, Dublin, was turned mih of 
the latter upon the Restoration, and then 
came to Knglaiid.f He had but five pounds 
when he landed at Liverpool, and knowing 

s This is a proof, conclusive, <>f my accuracy in a 
mriit which will be hereafter Been, aa respecting Jami 
Nailor, of Ardsley, 

• jil.tiiiy, vol. 2, p. :,!'.). 

t Vol. 2, p. 668. He was brother to Jeremiah Marsden, 
ejected from Anlsey Chapel, of whom an inters ting accounl 
mav be found in p 562 of the same Work. 



oobody, he resolved to '^^ to Coley, where 
his father had been Minister long before. 
Here he found friends, and was fixed, as 
Minister, until he was turned adrift a second 
time, in L662. Be afterwards fled into 
Eolland (doubtless on account of the " Farn- 
Icy Wood Plot"), and, at his return, about 
1672, he taught some student-, at Hague 
Hall, philosophy, &c." Be is said to have 
been a good classic, and a hard student, but 
not a very pleasing Preacher. He was a 
moderate Congregationalist. and. apparently, 
a man of great integrity. He succeeded Mr. 
.Marshall, at Topcliffe, as before mentioned — 
died May 25th, 1681. aged 47, and was 
buried at Tingley. 

It is unnecessary for me to say more 
respecting the Topcliffe Ministers. Whatever 
I may think of their religious opinions, I can 
have no doubt they were good men, and true 
patriots. Whoever wishes to learn more as 
to their supplies, such as Mr. Holdsworth, 
Mr. Jolly, Mr. Root, Mr. Bloom, and others 
mentioned in the Register, may consult the 
second volume of Calamy' s Memorial, who 
was misinformed as to Holdsworth' s inter- 
ment. That took place at Tingley, July 29, 
1685. 

Besides these gentlemen, however, I find 
that Mr. Oliver Heywood, Mr. Dawson, Mr. 
Izots, Mr. Whitehurst, Mr. Sharpe, Mr. 
Naylour, Mr. Ray, Mr. Lister, and others 
mentioned in the Memorial, all of them 
ejected Ministers, except the last, occasion- 
ally officiated at Topcliffe, and the remunera- 
tion for each Sabbath-day's services was just 
seven shillings, though some of them travelled 
a long distance. I mention this as greatly to 
the credit of these venerable men, who were 
not day labourers, beardless men, or little 
tradesmen, but some of them, University 
Scholars, and all of them well educated. 

To persons acquainted with local circum- 
stances, it will not be 1 matter of surprise that 
the religious societies of Topcliffe and Lee 
Fairshould have ceased, while that at Morley 
flourished. The Dissenters at the former 
places generally, have been a poor people, 
unable, of themselves, to support a Minister, 
and obliged, very considerably, to draw upon 
the bounty of those in London, who had the 
management of their funds, for the use of 
such charities. And this they did through 
the medium ol a Mr. Stretton, receiving the 
monies by the hand of a Mr. Jackson. But at 
Morley i he case was different — many people 



of tolerable fortune frequented the Old Chapel, 
about which the population increased with 
the increase of the woollen trade. The 
Ministers, also here, being (what were called) 
Presbyterians, were more learned, if not more 
popular, than the Independents ;J compared 
with whom however (apart from their reli- 
gious dogmas), they cul but a poor figwe in 
the history of the seventeenth century. Then, 
however, the Presbyterians had the tide in 
their favour ; so much so indeed, here, that 
there were regular hearers at the Old Chapel 
from Scholecroft, Birstal, Gildersome, and all 
the neighbouring villages. In fact, within 
my recollection even, several people have 
come to it in the good, social, old-fashioned, 
way of travelling- -••Darby and Joan," 
bumping upon one horse, like Queen Elizabeth 
and her Lord Chamberlain, and quite as 
unconscious of there being any thing grotesque 
or ludicrous in the exhibition, as cither her 
majesty or her lawyers. But Meeting-ho 
have so multiplied in these parts that the 
building, formerly a stable, and dining-room 
above it. for the distant Members of this 
Society, have been of late converted into a 
cottage for the sexton. The circumstance, 
however, which has mosl supported the 
interest here, is the endowment by Lord 

by means of their Pai 
house and land, added t<> the quarterly collec- 
tions, the Trustees were able formerly, without 

the aid of any oilier fund, to support a Pafl 

of respectable e lucation, and even attach him 
to the village. Nol in a state of haughty 
independence, or of abjeel servility, bul in 

that middle state, in which insolence on the 
one hand, and indolence on the other, are best 
excluded. The Ministers of former times, be 

it here noted, were a different people, and 
differently circumstanced, from what they now 
very generally, amongsl Dissenters. 
They had commonly a small private fortune 
of their own, and the fruits of their labours, 

in a pecuniary view, served only in these 
•• // ugal" time-, a- an auxiliary to a e.nufort- 

able subsistence. Being gentlemen ly educa- 
tion too, and not unfrequently ly birth, and 

engaging in the work of the minis! i y from a 

belter motive than that of avoiding the toils 

of trade, they came not to settle in pL 

such as Morley, like paupers passed to their 

l One of the best, and most consistent, nun of I 
tin- celebrated Henry Burton, who suffere i a dreadful i i 
ration with Prynneand Bastwick (.both Presbyterian*] Few 
people are aware how interesting his life would he. if \\<-!l 
written, hut few Indeed could procure the materlala for roofa 
a Work. The copy, in the lSritiih Museum, of that written 
by himself is. perhaps, unique. 



parishes — without furniture, a library, or a 
wardrobe ; and, least of all, did they come 
without that stock of information and repute 
which is essentially requisite in a Christian 
Past.r. 

In writing of these gentlemen 1 left off in 

a former page with Mr. Daily, who was not 
one of the ejected Minister.-, and who sur- 
vived Ins •• Call " to this place only i 
months. After his death our forefathers had 

supplies at their private houses, amoi 

whom may be numbered Mr. Thomas Sharp. 

Mr. Oliver Heywood, Mr. Joseph Daw - 

and perhaps Mr. Ilawdeii. who is interred at 
the West-end of the Chapel. All these WOTS 

ejected .Mini' . was also the next 

out Pa-tor. who came here 77. 

The Rev. Robert Pickering, M.A.. of >id- 

lambridge, was born at rlippax. 

••lie was," jays Dr. Calamy, lt a modest, 

humble, pious man- a I scholar, and a 

Useful preacher. When ejected he mailita 

his integrity. He was sometime Chaplain to 
Dinely, Esquire, of Bramhope, whence 

he removed to Morley,* and continued his 

labours there till a few day- before he died, 

t >ber l ith. L680, aged 1 1 yi are. Upon 
his tombstone it Ls Btated that, ' He accounted 
himself the meanest servant in the work of 
Jesus ( Ihrist.' " 

1 1 is impossible now to determine when 
the Dissenters in this village assembled for 
religi ins worship during the ministry of Mr. 
Pickering, and, indeed, after the Restoration ; 

but that it was at some <A' the houses in 

Charles 2nd's reign (still standing, peradven- 

tine) 1 have little doubt. That there was 

such a Meeting-house is evident from the 

following entry in the diary ni the Rev. 

Oliver Heywood. Speaking of his engage- 
ments, under date of the 1th of Novt-nd-ei-, 

1 t'.7'.t. he writes fchuS : — 

•• Studied in the morning, and in the after- 
noon -Mr. DaWSOn and I rode to Morley, and 

Lodged at Mr. John Brooksbank's. Vve had 

the next day a double lectureat the Meeting- 
house, Morley. Mr. Dawson's text n 

'There is none like the God of .leshurnn.' " 

in he Bays, " We had a large assembly 

at Mr. John Hutteiwort h's. Morley, where 1 
Spenl tour hours in prayerf and preaching. 

Prom i Dead la mj i > -ion. I h ■.<%■<• reason t<> think 

Hi Pickering I bii family, lived at i hurwell . 

; events, th< | lived tiu-re in 

\ l hi'..- little doubi dot. befi re tl a, or •ven 

before tbe reign «->f • harlot let, many ••( tbo I nnrafa vicrgy 

• ii.ii., Hi for, their gifti la extempore prayer s ee wn r 



54 



with great pleasure and enlargement of 

heart." 

AltlK ugh it is said by Mr. Fawcett, in his 
Life of ITeywood. that " he obtained favour 
in the eyes of some Churchwardens and Con- 
formist Ministers so far as to be admitted, 
occasionally, into their Churches and Chapels. 
where lie spoke the word of God with bold- 
ness ; that his auditors were numerous, and 
that an abundant blessing attended his 
labours, particularly at Idle, Bramley, Parn- 
ley, Morley. Pudsey, and Eunslet;" yet at 
one time 1 doubted, very much, whether, at 
the times alluded to, he preached in our 
Chapel, however he might have done so after 
the second Revolution. For, in the first 
place, the Act of Uniformity, and other Acts. 
were in full force against him. Secondly, it 
is manifest Dissenting Teachers were much 
persecuted even after the first Indulgences of 
1672, yea, even after the year 1079. Thirdly. 
the calling their place of assembly a " Meeting- 
house" (by Mr. Heywood) formed a pre- 
sumption of some weight : but, fourthly, and 
what staggered me the most ay as, the 
undoubted fact, that even so late as James 
2nd's reign, the service and ceremonies of 
the Church of England were actually per- 
formed at our Old Chapel. Now this appeared 
to me such a mass of evidence against Mr. 
Fawcett' s assertion,! that I really believed 
him to have been mistaken — but the Whit- 
kirk Register overcomes me, and confirms his 
accuracy. 

That this Chapel was seized by the Church- 
men, at the time of the Restoration, is 
manifest from two circumstances — one is the 
Royal Coat of Arms, still bearing date, 1G64, 
as before mentioned — the other (and which 
also proves that it was retained till the second 
Revolution or after it) is the actual existence 
of the Service-book which, by good fortune, 
has been preserved, and which shews that 
the Liturgy of the Church of England was 
read in this Chapel in the reign of dames the 
2nd; for in it are prayers for "James — for 
Mary Catherine, the Queen Dowager — Mary 
— Princess of Orange, and the Princess Ann 
of Denmark;" and at the beginning, in an 
old fashioned hand, is written Morhy 

instance in Strype's Life of Bishop Aylmer, p. t:i. See also a 

Note (I think) to Claudius Buchanan's celebrated Sermon of 

" The Star in the Kast." 

I I observe l)r. Cahuuy also Bays of Oliver llcyw 1, that 

he preached in the Chapels of these places after the Five .Mi It- 
Act, so that, though they did Dot read the Service, thev 
evidently preached in spite of the kcts, 18 and 14 Charles i\u\, 
ch. 4, sections 19th and '.'1st 16th I harles 2nd, ch, 6, see. 7. 



Town's Book Common Praers. That it was 
not used after L688 is probable, inasmuch as 
in the prayers for the Royal Family, no 
erasure of the word James and substitution 
of William appears ; besides which, we know- 
that not long after the Dynasty of the Stuarts 
terminated, the Chapel was restored to its 
rightful proprietors. 

That this Chapel was not restored till some 
time after the second Revolution, is proved by 
the Parsonage-house, which was built by the 
Dissenters here about 1G88, as appears, not 
only by the architecture of it, but by a curious 
document which I proceed to notice. — 

L have in my possession a Certificate of 
License to perform religious worship in a 
house which, for near one hundred and forty 
years, has been called " the Parsonage." It 
seems to have been the license first obtained 
after the " Toleration Act " had passed, and 
the purport of it (part in Latin) is as follows : 

At the General Quarter Sessions of the 
Peace of our Lord and Lady, the King and 
Queen, held at Leeds by adjournment from 
another place in the West- Riding, the 13th 
day of July, in the first year of the reign of 
our Lord and Lady, William and Mary, now 
King and Queen of England, before John 
Kaye, Bart., Marmaduke Went worth, William 
Lowther, Knts., William Norton, John Town- 
ley, Robert Ferrand, Esqrs., and others, our 
Justices, — 

" These are to certifie whome it may con- 

cerne, that the house called the built 

by the inhabitants of Morley, within the said 
West Riding. — was recorded at the Sessions 
abovesaid, for a Meeting-place for a Con- 
gregation or Assemby for religious worship, 
according to the form of the Statute in that 
case made and provided." 

Upon the back of this Certificate, in an old 
hand, is written — " This is the Certificate for 
the Chapel or Public Meeting-place at Mor- 
ley," which my grandfather, who died an 
aged man, in 1779, thus expounds — " Taken," 
says he, " for what is now the Parsonage- 
house, which was the Meeting-house for se- 
veral years after the Revolution, and was 
built by the inhabitants of Morley. S. and 
T. S.*'l773. 

One thing observable upon the face of this 
Certificate is, that the whole of it seems writ- 

These are the initials of Samuel and Theodosie Scatcherd, 
whose attachment to each other was remarkable, and fatal at 
last to the former, as he never was himself again after her 
loss. " They were lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in 
their deaths they were not divided." 



00 



ten by the Clerk of the Court, except the 
words — " called the " — which are in another 
hand, and have been defaced by a dash of the 
pen ; and except also the words — " built by the 
inhabitants of Morley " — which have been 
cautiously and timorously inserted, instead of 
the words — ;t Parsonage-house." These, evi- 
dently, were in the mind of this wary In- 
struetor, as he was dictating to the Clerk a 
description of the promises — but lie suddenly 
pauses and declines to say — *• Parsonage- 
house;" probably through some dread of 
those harpies who had pounced upon the 
Chapel itself at the return of " the beloved." 
lie, therefore, elects to have it considered as 
a house ".built by the inhabitants of Morley," 
For worshipping " the God of their Fathers" 
after their own form. 

It is manifest, therefore, from this Certifi- 
cate and the Indorsement that, in 1689, the 
Dissenters at Morley had not. in fact, re- 
gained possession of their Chapel : for had it 
been then in their possession the License 
would, unquestionably, have been gotten for 
this their Meeting-place, and nol for the 
dwelling of the Minister. Nay. h even ap- 
pears thai thi'\ so little expected Its "resto- 
ration" a- t'» build, about this very time. 
Upon a part of the land which they had on 
lease, reunite from the Chapel, nol <>nl\ a 

house for their Pastor, but a Meeting-ho 

under the same roof. This fact is not only 

proved by tradition, but the very interior of 
the building -hews it. Ii is a house display- 
ing two fronts — that on the South was the 
dwelling, and on the West was the Chapel. 
Of late years this ha- been much altered and 
modernised : but. within my recollection even, 

its window [millions and jambs, and the slight 

wainscotted partition betw< en the houi 
parlour, showed it t<» have forme I; c 
iuted but one room, 

I have just stated that the Minister's house 
was built about the year I 688 ; and that ii 
was not built much before that time, is to me 
evident, from a comparison of it with • 
other dwellings in Morley, which fortunately 
have dates upon their front-. One house, for 
i e, near Morley hole, the property of a 
Mr. Cawthorne, bear- date 1681. Another, 
which formerly was the residence of John 
Dawson, Esq., the father of Lady Lough- 
borough (in L789) hears date his.".; and 
another, the property of Mr. Swinden, sur- 
geon; was built by <>ne of the Huntington 
family, about the same time. At Adwalton, 



Gfldersome, &&, there are also several of 

these houses with date- upon them, and all 
so similar that whoever baa paid attention t<. 

the domestic architecture Of Charles 2nd's 

reign will recognise them at a --lance. Under 

all circumstances, it is highly probable that 

the " Parsonage-boose " was built in 16 

when .Mr. Dawson wa- invited to settle at 

Morleys hut that it was finished in 1689 b 
proved by the License, and it discovers acir- 
cumstance very material to this history — 

namely, that even -<• late as this period, our 
forefather- had uot regained possession of 

their Chapel. 

lint here my neighbours will be ready I.. 

ask me — When, and by what means, was this 
event brought about? — to which question it 

is, with me. a matter of regret that I cannot 
return a satisfactory answer; for, in spite "i 
all my inquiries, a dark shadow must evei 
on this page of my Work. It may be as- 
sumed, however, 1 think, that the event 
transpired sometime between L693« and 1 6 
when many known Dissenters returned t<. 
their Chapel. 
A- to the other part of the question, the 

traditionary account is all that I can i 

sent. Of its truth, however (coming to me 

as it has done from the lips of truth.) I hav< 
qo doubt. 

It appears then, thai although the Stuart 
Government had the cruelty to deprive our 
ancestors of their place of worship, it -till 
considered, thai altogether to eject the 
Trustees under a Lease from the Lord of the 
.Manor, of what was. unquestionably, his 

freehold, would be rather fcoo barefaced ;( 

violation of both law and equity, and it, 

therefore (partly (abstained from such violence. 

This wa-. certainly, wonderful in men who 
stuck ai nothing when their will wa- opposed, 
and had even (he presumption t<» set up them- 
selves i" tolerate the Almighty, t-> receive the 
homage of Sis creatures | — but .-.. it was. 
Our brave forefathers, therefore true t" their 

trust- constant in their principles, and in- 

censed at the tyrannj of their oppressors, 
kept ,i resolute hold of their land in lease, and 
appropriated its produce t" the support of a 

Ith, hat 
ible • ntry " Though thii d»j 

■ tag Hi- birth, rrtuni and tr ■ 

mmiBo taken •'( It, 

iiur :iny ]>;irt ■■( : 

■ . I \ . ! 

» I aUudc to ti 
eras I tioi t" Intolerance, i-ut the i 

ml} 



56 



pious and enlightened Ministry of their own 
choice. Of course it would happen that, ex- 
cept the pitiful trifle which arose out of bap- 
tismal or burial dues, there could be no fund 
for payment of a Curate's salary ; and the 
Vicar of Batley very naturally became tired 
of an expense which was no less hurtful to 
the people of Morley than to himself. 

At the time of which I write, the state of 
parties in the neighbourhood presented a spec- 
tacle rather singular. The Vicar's Deputy 
and an old Clerk, called Stainer,:f with scarce 
a dozen people, formed all the congregation 
at the Chapel, while the meeting-houses at 
Morley and Topcliffe were crowded. Where- 
ever the true Pastor — the ejected Minister — 
appeared, the flock were gathered, while the 
presence of a Conformist was like a signal 
to retreat. Common decency, therefore, at 
last required that an end should be put to a 
farce within the Chapel, which had become 
quite as unprofitable, and far more unpopular, 
than the Pantomime of St. Dunstan and his 
Priests in the Saxon ages. Mr. Dawson, the 
last of our ejected Ministers, had the honour 
of gathering the scattered sheep within their 
ancient fold. 

" Mr. Joseph Dawson,"* says Dr. Calamy, 
"was ejected from Thornton Chapel ; he lived, 
after his ejectment, near Halifax, and preached 
near Birstal. He was a very pious and learned 
man — of great esteem for his integrity, pru- 
dence, humility, and meekness. Of a very 
venerable aspect — a hard student, and an 
affectionate preacher, who naturally cared for 
the good of souls, unwearied in labours — 
very successful in his ministry, and who had 
a good report of. all men. Even in his 
advanced age he travelled to a considerable 
distance, at all seasons of the year, to preach 
to a poor people, and took as much care to 
serve them as though they could have given 
him a large salary. He was a considerable 
sufferer, by reason of his strait circumstances, 
ami his having a numerous family, yet he 
never repented <>f his Nonconformity." 

u The Rev. Joseph Dawson, of Morley," 
says John Dunton,f who Knew him well, " is 
a grave and reverend Minister of Jesus 
Christ — an Israelite indeed, in whom there is 

J The funnel through which thj Brook at Morley Mows is 
called "Stuincr Brig/' from the circumstance of this old 
Clerk having lived near it. 

Inspecting Mr. Dawson's family see Cent. Mag., vol. 82, 

p. •>; 

t Sec "Life and Krrors of John Dunton, Citizen of Lon- 
don," published a few years ago, by Nichols. 



no guile — an angelical man for meekness — 
another Moses — a man of such a holy, exem- 
plary, conversation, and venerable behaviour, 
as gains him respect and reverence from all 
men — a deep divine, of great ministerial paits 
and abilities, and of a sweet and happy 
del i very. Being affectionately desirous of t he 
good of souls, he is willing to impart unto 
them, not the Gospel of God only, but his 
own soul also, because they are dear to him ; 
exhorting and charging every one, even as a 
father does his children. Though he is now 
such another as Paul, the aged, being in the 
70th year of his life, yet he is as indefatiga- 
ble and dilligent in his duty as if but just 
entered on his work ; as our blessed Saviour 
before him, doing the work of Hun that sent 
him while it is day, before the night comet h, 
when no man can work. In a word, he is a 
burning and shining light, a very pattern of 
holiness, meekness, humility, and zeal for 
God's glory — one whose conversation i^ in 
Heaven. He trained up four young men, all 
sons of a friend of mine, in academical 
learning ; three of whom are now in the 
ministry, and do worthily for God and their 
generation." 

On the death of Mr. Dawson in June, 
1709, at the age of 73, the Trustees of Mor- 
ley Chapel chose the Rev. Mr. Timothy Aired 
to be their minister. Some of the MSS. of 
this gentleman, in my possession, show him 
to have been an able Latin scholar and Scrip- 
ture critic. From those who knew him, I 
have heard that he was a man of uncommon 
information and worth. His handwriting, at 
the age of 80. was beautiful. 

The name of Aired, Alured, or Aldred (for 
it is variously written) is of frequent occur- 
rence, and famous in English History. Col. 
John Alured and his brother Matthew, were 
celebrated officers during the Civil War. and 
served their country under the Protectorship 
of Cromwell. The former was Col. of Horse 
under the Karl (A' Bedford — a member of Par- 
liament, and one of the Commissioners and 
Judges appointed for frying Charles Stuart. 
Kin- of England, whose death-warrant he 
signed. In L657, these brothers, with another 
named Lancelot, were amongst the Commis- 
sioners, appointed by the Government, for 
raising an assessment in England for three 
months, and were nominated for the East 
Hiding of Yorkshire. But Aired, which is 
only a contraction for Ealred or Ealdred, is a 
name of high antiquity, and well known as 



57 



having- been borne by some of our Saxon 
Monarchs, as well as by that Archbishop of 

York, who set the crown on the head both of 
Harold J and the Conqueror. 

It was during the ministry of Mr. Aired 
that the Chapel was underdrawn, theChaucel, 
Vestry, or Village School (whatever it was), 
having doubtless boon laid open to it about 
1693. This underdrawing" seems to have been a 
grand effort in the estimation of our thrifty, 
economical, forefathers, to whom Mr. Aired 
preached upon this occasion from the text — 
'• Jle is worthy for whom ye have done lliis: 
He hath loved our Nation, and built us a 
Synagogue." Mr. Aired, undoubtedly, knew 
far more about the place than any one now 
living; and 1 am not sine thai he does ao\ by 
this text intimate, indirectly, by what religious 
party the Chape] was built. 

.Mr. Aired would certainly have shone as 
an author had he published, but he has left. 
alas! to posterity only a few MS. Sermons. 
Criticisms, and Latin Essays. lie seems to 
have devoted an uncommon portion of time 
to his beloved Classical mid Ministerial studies 
during' the long period of fifty-four year-, 
combating- very frequently the tenets of the 
celebrated John Wesley upon instantaneous 
conversion, and Christian perfection, with a 
talent and temper highly creditable to him as 
a preacher, a gentleman, and a scholar. 

Upon the resignation of Air. Aired in 1763, 
the Trustees invited the Re\ . Thomas Morgan 

to settle here, and he was vvvry way worthy 

of their choice. He was a uativeof Caer- 
marthen in Wales — a perfect gentleman of 

the old school, without any of its frivolity; a 
well-informed, serious, and modest man. Hi- 
sermons, during the last thirty years of his 
ministry, like his prayers, were quite extem- 
poraneous, yet the matter was generallv sen- 
sible, well connected, and studiously adapted 
to the capacities of his auditory. His voice 
was excellent — but the greatesl praise of Mr. 

Morgan was the warmth and animation with 

which he expressed his thoughts. He spoke 
in the pulpit as one " having authority" — as 
one convinced of the importance of his work, 

and of his responsibility for the porformance 
of it. yet without any of that rant, or cant, 
or theatrical display, which is disgusting lo 
men of sense and of liberal education. Ho 
aever related fanciful stories, much les^ did 

ne labour to prove self-evident propositions, 

as that k *Sin is an Evil," and such other 

I Hume, vol. 1., pi 179-':aG. 



palpable truism^ as prove themselves; yet I 
cannot bestow unqualified commendation even 
upon Mr. Morgan; for, with all his good 
sense, he would often expatiate upon topics 
unedifying — incapable of proof, repugnant to 
reason, and which no man upon earth ever 
did — ever will — or ever can, comprehend. 

The aspect of Mr. Morgan was uncom- 
monly tine, — his demeanour the most reverend 

and dignified I ever beheld — That venerable 
form and countenance indeed I can never 
forget — It stood erect — it looked upwards, as 
though it i \er contemplated a something 
beyond this life. Such, in a word, ii was, 
that if 1 had met with it upon the plains of 
Indostan I musl have paid it homage. 

Upon the subjeel of religion the sentiments 
of Mr. Morgan appear to have been very 
similar to those of the celebrated Baxter. — 
l pon the doctrines of the Trinity and the 
Atonement lie m a- very " orthodox." 

Although, however, no man was more 
tenacious of his principles than .Mr. Morgan, 
he was tolerant and liberal inwnrd.s others; 
and he seems to have been most partial to 
well educated ministers of the same spirit. 
His connections were with the Pastors of the 
denomination called •■ Presbyterian," com- 
prehending the Unitarians, with whom and a 
few Baptists, who also had access to his 
pulpit, he was very cordial : but from all 
other sects and parties he kepi aloof with a 
peculiar stateliness and dignified reserve. 

At no period, perhaps, was the polpif of 
the Old chapel graced by ministers of such 
extraordinary learning and talent as it was 
in Mr. Morgan's time. Here, occasionally, 
officiated the ministers of Mill-Hill,' (.'all- 
Lane, and Stone Chapels, in Urds ; — of 

Westgate, in Wakefield; — of Nbrthgate End, 
in Halifax.; — of Chapel Fold, in Bradford; 
besides the pastors at Pudsey, Warley, Lid- 
gate, EUand, &c., all of them gentlemen of 
extensive information, independent of their 

ministerial qualifications. Tiny were Mich, 

even in a companionablet point <>\ view, as 
any person might be proud to introduce to an 
acquaintance. When, indeed, the name only 
of Priestley i- mentioned — that great man 
whose title-, conferred by the learned societies 

Dr. Priestley, I bellere, dM not officiate ban more Una 

i One <>r two i bave baud touching ii» rloloaoeUo tad 
barOeiehord, and ringing at their own bona . rerj iwcttlj 
andaclentlfleaUj tad lereral who oonld attract and Bj 
attention of ■ •octal part] t"i imuh i>y their lively anecdote, 
innocent mirth, and oharming elocution. 



58 



throughout Europe, would almost fill b page; 
or thai of his successor^ the Rev. William 
Wood, F.L.S. — the reaijer may, perhaps, 
form some idea of their associates. 

Mr. Morgan was a contributor t" the Gen- 
tleman's Magazine, upon his Favourite sub- 
jects of Fossiology and Antiquities, and the 
author (amongsl othertracts) of ■• An Appeal 

to the Common Sense of Plain and Common 
Christians." 'Phis •• Appeal " was intended as 
a preservative againsl the supposed heresies 
of Dr. Priestley, then the minister at Mill- 
Jlill. who replied to it in a strain of severity 
very uncommon from him, and scarcely 
becoming the occasion. The connection 
between the Societies of Mill-Hill and Morley 
at length was interrupted by the freedom of 
thought in which that great philosopher and 
polemic indulged ; but was afterwards renewed 
by Mr. Wood — one of the best and brightest 
of his species, and whose kind attentions to 
his brother here, in the trying season of age 
and sickness, are well remembered. 

Were 1 to state the particulars of that 
curious controversy in which our old Parson 
and Dr. Priestley engaged, the reader might 
as justly complain of me as James 1st did of 
the Cambridge Pedants, and on the same 
score — on the score of " tediosity." — I shall, 
therefore, only observe that the craft of the 
Doctor was seldom more amusingly displayed 
than upon this occasion. Our worthy " Taffy " 
— honest simple-hearted man — according to 
the fashion of the day. and the practice of 
controversialists, collected all the texts, and 
isolated passages in Scriptures, supposed to 
favour his tenets on the Trinitarian Subject, 
or that of the Atonement, and encountered 
his opponent with great gravity. Like most 
of the " Orthodox," he appears to have 
imagined that the victory lay on the side of 
him who could quote most of them. But he 
had to do with a man who had exi'vy species 
of artillery and destructive weapon at com- 
mand — the most formidable knight that ever 

appeared in the tilts and tournaments of 
spiritual dispute — a champion who bearded 

the High Priest of the Jewish Synagogue — 
broke a lance with the author of "The Ruins 

of Empires" — defeated the formidable Yolney 
— trampled on the Pope and his Cardinals at 
Pome, and set at, nought the \cry Hierarchy of 

England. How ludicrous then must have 

been this contest in the eyes of literary men '. 

It exhibited a scene which, doubtless, would 



excite the laughter of many. It wa> a giant 
playing with a dwarf. 

Of all men in the world the Doctor was the 
leasl likely to be found " arguing in a circle" 
with any antagonist. I lis acute and com- 
prehensive mind, formed for science and 
enamoured with learning, delighted most in 
what was demonstrable or probable in solid 
argument, in historical evidence, in logical or 
philosophical deductions, in matters of fact. 
or of rational speculation. He was not the 
knight-errant who would fight with wind- 
mills, and pursue an Ignis fatuus over the bogs 
and bulrushes of rotten ground. He loved to 
come to a point at once, and to vanquish an 
opponent by the shortest course. Perceiving, 
therefore, that there was no chance of grap- 
pling his Orthodox Brother in the routine of 
quotation which lie pursued, this wily and 
experienced champion made so masterly a 
feint as had well nigh drawn the other from 
his trenches. Suddenly changing his position, 
he sent forth a challenge to Mr. Morgan, 
calling upon him, " as in honour hound'' to 
proclaim his opinions on the subject " of Uva 
will," or k - the ability of man to do the will of 
God." It was a grand manoeuvre, and con- 
ducted in the most masterly manner. Had it 
succeeded — had our Parson been caught in 
this theological trap, every bone in his skin 
would have been broken. 

But Providence has given to its creatures a 
sagacity or cunning whereby the weak are 
often saved from the machinations of the 
strong; and so it was manifested in this in- 
stance, for Old Orthodox, perceiving the 
danger which lay before him, retreated, leav- 
ing his challenger disappointed; and who, 
being provoked by something which was 
never explained to me, let drop an expression 
" at parting' ' which was often echoed through 
our village. As I received it the purport 
was — ik lIow dare you, Sir, contradict me, 
who are only known to the world by the six- 
penny pamphlet you have published."* 

Had there been no other "bone of conten- 
tion " betwixt these 1 excellent men than such 
as is adverted to, if can hardly be supposed 
that so intemperate a reflection would have 

been dropped by oik^ of so mild and benevolent 
a nature as Avas the Doctor; but politics al 
this period were much agitated in the nation, 

Whether this appears In as " IntelliKencer " Newspaper, 
printed at Leech), in 1771, or not, 1 am unable to say, I state 
the thing merely as a rumour, hut I well remember from 
whom I heard it ; ami that person being adverse to the 
Doctor in religious sentiment, the words may be qualified. 



and parties ran high. Those letters of match- 
less elegance, the compositions of Junius, were 
well nigh finished ; bat the ardour of con- 
troversy which they excited was still fervent, 
and the subsequent unfortunate f events so 
far increased it that every man's mind became 
known — neutrality, indeed, was impossible. 
The freedom of debate, excited by a few bold, 
free, and independent spirits, soon led dis- 
cussion upwards, from men and measures, to 
"the Rights of Man." and the comparative 
superiority of governments. But these specu- 
lations were regarded generally as "daring 
{lights." as dangerous in politics, as reason in 
religion, and our Philosopher was stigmatized, 
for thirty years and upwards, after this con- 
troversy, as a "Jacobin,"! a "Republican," 
and an " Infidel." 

Now, though Mr. Morgan was as guarded 
in his speech as lie was reserved in other 
respects, it was not difficult to discover in 
him a politician of the "old school," one 
whose maxim was, that "whatever is is 
right." Who considered England (including 
Wales of course) as the grandest of all possible 
nations — its king as the best of all possible 
kings, and its government as the wisest of all 
governments? From the recollection which 
1 have of this good man, 1 am quite satisfied 
that he regarded the Doctor as a restless 
spirit, and a vissioriary, whoso schemes of 
government were quite " Utopian ;" and I 
think it not improbable that he would, by 
occasional bursts of his national vehemence, 
do some justice to the text — " My Son fear 
thou the Lord and the King, and meddle not 
with them that are given to change." 

But our Philosopher had, from infancy, 
been accustomed to doubt — to reason and to 
demonstration. He calmly contemplated 
effects and causes — took nothing upon trust, 
but looked into men, as he did into nature, 
with the eye of an eagle. Ee seems to have 
considered that the declining to take an active 

and decided part in critical times, indicated a 

culpable indifference to the interests of the 
Commonwealth; and that the season of re- 
form, both in Church and State,§ had ton long 
been delayed. The opinions of ;i •• Pangloss" 

in politics, he put upon a level with his nrgu- 

t The reader may well suppu.se that I allude especially to 
the American War 

; It is my particular wish to have such matters as these put 
upon record. They will be an accompaniment, suitable to the 
history of the Birmingham Riots, and that of the general feel 
ing and intelligence <>f the nation, in the latter part of the 
la.st century, lee Life <»f Win, Hutton, a book which every 

man ought to read 



ment in metaphysics, [f made subservient 
to pecuniary advantage, his contempt no 
doubt would be moved • but if they were the 
offspring* of ignorance and timidity, his anger 
also would be roused. At all events he re- 
garded them as less unaccountable in a 
Churchman than a Protestant Dissenter. 

Such are my ideas of two venerable men 
worthy of a better age than that in which 
they lived, and of a better country. Though 
in the collision of controversy they might 
emit a few momentary sparks, their natures 
were incapable of long resentment. Their 
i in perfections -were but as spots upon the disk 
of the sun — transient and trivial. In after 
life they reg*arded each other as " brethren," 
and though separated for a short season, by 
sentiment, by the waters of the Atlantic 
ocean, and the "still — cold stream of death," 
the} r are gone. 1 doubt not. to that world 
where they see no more " as through a glass 
—darkly;" but " face to face." 

The gentleman-like conduct, at all times 
displayed by Mr. Morgan, was never more 
conspicuous than it was upon his receiving his 
"call'' to settle at Morley, signed by nearly 
all the Trustees, and approved, generally, by 
the congregation here. On looking over the 
names he perceived one to be wanting which 
he considered as highly respectable, and he, 
therefore, returned a polite answer, declining 
to come here on that ground. This occasioned 
a letter from the Trustee in question, nearly 
in the following words — 

" Dear Sir. 

"The only reason why my signa- 
ture to your invitation has not been added to 
that of the other Trustees is briefly this. I 
was out upon a journey, as you know, during 
most of the time you were ] (reaching as a 
canditate at Morley: and I. therefore, had 
not sufficient means of judging, either of your 

teuetS or qualifications; but let me entreat 

you to come, and not be discouraged on my 

account. If I like your ministry 1 shall 
regularly ;it tend upon it; but if otherwise depend 
upon me I will give you no cause iov uneasi- 
ness Oil my account whatever." 

This candid and libera] declaration was 
succeeded bv a strong attachment to .Mr. 



$ Time, which "tries .-ill things." baa at uwt settled the 
grand <iu.-sti(.u. and we now dlaoorer, pretty olearly. who 
were the wise men and who the foolish, at the period alluded 
to Our national debt, onr losses, and the general aspect of 
things, has brought the proudest, and most violent, party tu 
their senses, and their language mow is truly curious But, 
alas! the mischief is done and generations yel nnbora will 
execrate tiii^ party; 



(iO 



Morgan, which continued till 1779, when 
that Trustee died. I would say more on this 
robjeci it propriety allowed it. 

Bui different — very different was the spirit 
which two or three of the Trustees (not men- 
tioned) and their partizans discovered upon 
this i ocasion. It was in fact so far from 
Christian, that it occasioned the following 
letter to Mr. Morgan, then in Saddleworth, 
which 1 give verbatim, having the original in 
my possession — 

M Sir, 

w - By a letter Mr. Aired has com- 
municated to us from Mr. Stansfeld, we are 
inclined to hope that some conversation yon. 
had on your return from Morley, with your 
friends in that part of the country had, in a 
great measure, dispersed those terrible* 
apprehensions. you had formed of our factious 
and divided state, and your principal objec- 
tions to your coming to Morley, on that 
account, removed. If that be the case, we 
dare venture to say Mr. Morgan has not 
much to fear from the opposition. Though 
the numbers may not be a few. as we believe 
they will leave the place unless a man of their 
own principles be chosen, and their leaving 
us will be of little consequence to the interest 
of the Minister ; as we shall and do engage 
to make the salary as good as it now is. If 
any of them stay amongst us, and offer to 
disturb the repose of the congregation, or 
you in your ministration, we doubt not but 
you will have spirit enough to disregard 
them, in which you will be properly sup- 
ported ; and on such a plan we hope you may 
be very comfortable, useful, and happy here. 

" We, on this presumption, assure you of 
the good opinion we have of you as a Minister 
proper for us. And if your sentiments and 
inclinations coincide with ours, we, whose 
names are subscribed do, unanimously, as the 
majority of the Trustees of the Chapel at 
Morley, hereby give you an invitation to 
officiate for us in that capacity there. Signed, 
John Dawson,f Jos. Asquith, Nathl. Webster, 
John Webster, ffen. Scatcherd, William 
Reyner, Thomas Reyner, Saml. Leathley, 
Geo. Alred,^ John Reyner." 

The year 1668 was memorable, as before 
related, for the "Farnley Wood riot;" nor 

" These "terrible apprehensions" were occasioned by 
anonymous letters sent to Mr. Morgan, worthy of the disciples 
of St. Dominie, and equally remarkable for the Ignorance and 
Insolence which they discovered. 

t This was the father of Lady Loughborough, 
t Only son of Mr. Aire t the Miuister 



less so, I assure the the reader, was the year 
17GI3 (just a century afterwards) for plots of 
another kind, which gave great uneasiness to 
the venerable -Mr. Morgan, but fortunately 
did not prevent his settling at Morley. It 
was once my intention to have published 
some of the particulars to which I allude; 
but as they would be little interesting- to the 
community, or ornamental to my book, I 
shall content myself with keeping them pri- 
vate by way of admonition or warning, to 
my descendants at least. Suffice it to observe 
that in this year a new sect or party sprang 
up at Morley, which, partly from the charm 
of novelty, partly from the sanctimonious 
professions or pretensions of its leaders, but 
principally from the fostering care of its pro- 
moters, at Heckmondwike and Leeds, soon 
grew up into what is quaintly termed an 
" Interest." One of those who had a principal 
share in this ;1 Interest" was an aunt of my 
father's, as "strait-laced" as perhaps any 
one of the sect. Of her, at least, I feel at 
liberty to speak, and can do it very impar- 
tially ; and the impression of my youth (con- 
firmed since by mature reflection) was, that 
her persuasion not only contracted her mind, 
but her heart, and soured her temper in no 
ordinary degree. Though she affected, how- 
ever, to scout some of the tenets of her fore- 
fathers and relatives, she paid great respect 
to their moral worth, and she appointed one 
of them sole executor to her will ; nor could 
any entreaty on his part induee her to put her 
temporal concerns into other hands. She cer- 
tainly, at least, understood the difference 
between profession and practice — between 
what some people call " faith," and morality 
— no doubt she could " speak her experiences." 

My relation being a chief pillar in the new 
establishment at Morley, in 176o, and, at 
least, as well educated as any one in that 
Church, I will here relate a single circum- 
stance, just to shew the nature of that con- 
version which about this period took place in 
her mind, the progress which she had made 
in Christian knowledge under her new in- 
structors, and the kind of preaching which 
the seceders from the Old Chapel disapproved. 

A well-bound set of Blair's Sermons hap- 
pening to strike the eye of my old kinswoman 
among her other books, she one day took 
them up, and presenting them to her executor, 
she exclaimed, ••There W- 



-n ! you may 
take those books to yourself, they were given 
to me by S. S, and they will just suit such as 



nl 



you ; but, for my part, I can find very little 
religion in them!!!" This anecdote, which 
I had on the best authority, may speak 
volumes. 

From this memorable year, 17G3, Morley 
lias been a very different village from what it 
was aforetime. In lieu of the learned, the 
dignified, and studious village Pastor, under 
whom all were associated in the bonds of 
peace* and union ; we have had (besides 
regular Ministers) Itinerants of various kinds 
officiating' here, some from the Methodist, the 
Calvinist. or other sects, and among- various 
other dogmas, the Antinomian heresies have 
been frequently promulgated. 

In 1795 Mr. Morgan resigned his ministry 
to Mr. Samuel Lucas, in consequence of a 
paralytic stroke which affected both his speech 
and his limbs. His intellectual powers he 
was blessed with to the last; and I have 
reason to remember some of his affecting-. 
heavenly thoughts in family prayer but a shoit 
time before his death, which was on the 2nd 
of July, 1799.* 

The Rev. Samuel Lucas — the favourite and 
friend of Mr. Morgan — was far less orthodox 
than his revered predecessor. He was 
educated at Daventry, in Northamptonshire, 
under Mr. Horsey, a successor of Doddridge, 
had studied to good purpose, and was highly 
esteemed by his people. It was impossible 
indeed that it could be otherwise, for, indepen- 
dent of other considerations, he possessed a 
disposition so amiable, so condescending and 
generous, that he seemed to fascinate whom- 
soever he addressed. 

In 1806 Mr. Lucas left Morley, and 
accepted the office of Chaplain or Minister to 
the family of Mills, of Ferry -Fry stone, with 
whom he was going to prayer, or had been 
at prayer, one morning in January, 1.S22. 
when he suddenly fell from his chair and 
expired. His remains were deposited in Mill- 
Hill Chapel Yard, Leeds, where a tomb is 
erected to his memory. 

* With this excellent man terminated the 
Presbyterian interest at the Old Chapel, and 
with him shall terminate my account of its 
Ministers. To the future historian, if such an 
one shall arise, 1 consign the honour of 
recording the lives and education of the new 
series, requesting him to take up the subjecl 
where I leave it off, and hoping that he will 

Mr. Morgan left issue a son. the Rev. Thomas Morgan, 
LI. I). , and a daughter. Of the former va acoounl ma] be 
found in the Gentleman's Magazine for 1881, p. L80, 



as tru)y. as proudly, and with as good 
vouchers, set- forth the qualifications and use- 
f ulness of the new men as 1 have done of the 
old. Of what Morley was in my younger 
•days, and what it is now, I shall treat in a 
subsequent page. 

Turning again to the fabric of the Chapel 
I cannot but regret that the old Trustees 
should have allowed a gallery to be put up at 
the west-end of it. and still more that this 
should have been extended, as it was done, 
about the year 1798. when a small organ was 
introduced. The organ indeed was necessary 
— the Chapel being one of the worst for 
sound in the kingdom, and the singing 
miserable ; but to darken the west window 
was to add to the gloom of the place, aud cut 
off its chief ornament. In other respects, 
however, it was improved at this time by 
painting, whitewashing, and repairs, especially 
in the pillars. These having, evidently, been 
the props of tin; Tithe Barn, had undergone 
no further polish than what the blocker or 
the adze had given them, but they were now 
cased with deal — painted, grained, and var- 
nished. In 1814 or 1."). again some money 
was expended in improvements. In short 
every attention had been paid to propriety, 
except that a whimsical ornament of plaster- 
work for a chandelier (quite out of character 
with the antiquity of the place) had been put 
up. Every one, however, who now saw the 
Chapel, commended the decency of its appear- 
ance noteven Dr.Whitakerexcepted, the editor 
of Thoresby's Leeds, who paid a short visit to 
the village in quest (as was then thought) of 
topographical information. It was, therefore, 
with astonishment that I found in that work 
the following passage: — 

"Morley — which denominates the hundred 
— had. at the time of Domesday Survey, a 

Parish Church. To the dependant state of a 

Chapel to Batley it was reduced by Robert de 
Lacy, founder of the latter Church, and so it 
seems to have continued till the great rebel- 
lion, when it underwent a second degradation^ 

being then leased out by Saville. Karl of 
Sussex, to certain Presbyterian Trustees, for 

;i term of five hundied year.-, in consequence 
of which it remains, perhaps, a solitary in- 
stance throughout England and Wales, of an 
ancient established place <■!* worship which 
was ,,ul restored i" the Established church nt 
the Restoration. Mill it retains much of the 

form of a Church, having a rhair and two side 

aisles, supported upon wcoden pastums instead 



<;•> 



of columns, but marking- the hands into which 
it has fallen by Sectarian inelegance and 
frugality" 

When a man. eiosetted up in a postchaise, 
tlies over a country direct like a swallow in 
April — hovering but for a moment over those 
villages which come within the line of his 
journey, and resting only on the pinnacles of 
41 established''' Churches ; making* little use of 
his eves and none of his ears — making' no 
inquiries where knowledge might be gained, 
and shewing no courtesy where assistance 
might be offered, it is easy to perceive how 
well qualified he must be for the task of 
topographical authorship, and how much he 
must have in him of the curiosity and ardour 
of a real Antiquary. Did old Hutton, of Bir- 
mingham, pursue this course ? 

Had Dr. Whitaker remained one hour in 
this village — had he made himself known — 
had he given a gentleman of my acquaintance 
an opportunity of shewing him " old English 
hospitality" — that gentleman I know would 
have been gratified — his son would have been 
honoured, and the Doctor would have done 
more credit to his profession, if not justice to 
the public. 

It would be difficult to find in any topo- 
graphical work, except the one alluded to, a 
piece of writing which, within the same com- 
pass, displays so much petulence, illiberality, 
superficial observation, and ignorance of 
positive facts. When dates indeed, and 
inscriptions, stare a man in the face, and he 
is, moreover, respectfully f referred to those 
who are not only willing but happy to impart 
information ; but he yet turns away in disdain, 
and, dipping his pen in gall, sends forth to 
the world such a passage as here is extracted, 
he lays himself open to animadversion, and 
justifies the inquiry — Where must have been 
the eyes, and where the ears, of such a com- 
mentator ? 

As this volume contains an answer to \)\\ 
Whitaker's assertion respecting the Chapel, 
I shall only advert here to the last clause — 
•■Still it retains much of the form of a Church, 
having a choir and two side aisles supported 
upon wooden pasturns instead of columns, 
but marking the hands into which it has 
fallen by Sectarian inelegance mid frugality." 

Many years ago 1 remember to have seen 

t This I was credibly Informed took place. The Doctor 
w« j , very properly, Invited by a neighbour (who procured him 

the keys of the < lhapel) to call upon one who would In- happy 
to s«e imd give iiim all tin- local Information in Ids powei 
ft ml wtw besides himself ui) Antiquary, 



a print published in derision of the conceits 
of antiquaries. It represented several of these 
gentry with spectacles and other glasses, 
poreing over a stone purposely prepared for 
them by an arch wag. who by a curious 
device had contrived that it should he unintel- 
ligible to them, but, by being inverted, should 
be read by ])eople in the secret. Upon it was 
inscribed an epitaph on an old woman, who 
sold earthenware, at Chester. 

•' Beneath this stone lies Catherine Gray, 
" Chang'd to a lifeless lump of clay ; 
" By earth and clay she got tier pelf, 
" But now, she's chang'd to earth herself. 
" Ye weeping friends let me advise, 
" Abate your grief and dry your eyes. 
" For what avails a flood of tears, 
" Who knows, but in a run of years, 
" In some tall pitcher or broad pan, 
" She in her shop may be again." 

Now the antiquaries being obliged to read 
it one way, and the initiated reading it 
another ; the characters of the letters also 
being curious, it ma} T well be imagined that 
the former are sadly at a loss for an explana- 
tion ; but unable to give it, their various con- 
jectures as to the high antiquity of this 
precious relic are truly ludicrous. Yet, not 
much more so than Dr. Whitaker's conceit in 
the above extract. 

Nonconformist reader ! if thou canst enjoy 
a joke, first survey the Chapel at Morley, and 
next the old Tithe Barn at Birstal, observing, 
especially, their wooden pasturns — not columns, 
and, then, if thou wouldest have the latter 
building to retain " much of the form of a 
Church," '• having a choir and side aisles," 
listen to my instructions. 

If thou canst purchase it, employ a few 
masons to remove the front and back Avails 
of this Barn, which they will easily do, with 
the aid merely of a few props, and by gallows- 
ing up the rafters, as the weight of the roof 
is not so much upon the walls, as on the 
" inelegant pasturns." Next step, for widen- 
ing your Church, and getting your " side 
aisles," let two walls be run up about eighteen 
qr twenty feet from your "pasturns" or line 
of the former fence, and lay upon your new 
walls some wall-plates with brackets or spurs. 
Then place some strong rafters with their 
ends resting on the pan-plate at top, and 
these spurs at the bottom. Throw some good 
** side waivers " along the full length of your 
building, adding such spars as may be neces- 
sary for your laths, and the support of your 
new slate. Having now taken care that your 
windows have proper mullions, semicircular 
heads, and tracers, your "Job" will be 



63 



finished ; and after a lapse of from 130 to 160 
years, some ' ; Big- Wig" of high Church and 
Tory principles, surveying it through his 
glass, or the mure fallacious medium of a dis- 
tempered mind (if it be a " Conventicle"), 
and assuming it as indisputable, that the 
Church of Birstal was but the offspring of 
this her aged mother, will write thus : — "Still 
it retains much of the form of a Church, 
having a choir and two side aisles, supported 
upon wooden pasturns instead of columns, but 
marking the hands into which it has fallen by 
Sectarian inelegance and frugality." 

Whenever a man writes or speaks upon a 
subject of which he is ignorant, but would 
needs have others to think him knowing, he 
generally adopts some artifice for that end. 
He either clothes it in mystery, or by loose 
and general expressions (reminding one of the 
oracular responses, as being adapted to inter- 
pretation of any kind), he shrouds himself in 
the ambiguity of double meanings. Like a 
phantom he assumes a form, but having no 
substance it is impossible to grasp him. 

It is impossible indeed to determine from 
the passage in question whether Dr. Whitaker 
regarded our Chapel as built by Churchmen or 
Dissenters. From the latter being so severely 
censured on account of their "inelegant" 
wooden pasturns, which evidently are coeval 
with the building, it may be contended that 
he considered them the architects ; and, 
indeed, if this be not the proper construction, 
the Doctor's sarcasm lias neither sense or 
meaning in it. In spite of this inference, 
however, 1 am clearly of opinion that this 
was not his idea. My interpretation of it is 
as follows: — 

• ; Although the Church of Morley has, since 
Domesday Survey, undergone many changes, 
and much degradation, by being firsl reduced 
to a Cliapelrv by Robert de Lacy, and that 
Chapelry converted into a Conventicle by the 
Karl of Sussex; and although the Presby- 
terians have made it a paltry])! ace of worship 
by their meanness and want of taste, still it 
retains much of the form of a Church (thai is, 
some of its original features) having a choir and 
side aisles" 

But 1 am far from wishing others to coin- 
cide in my opinion. The Doctor's remark is 

a two-edged sword, which cuts his party and 

not the Dissenters, whichever way it be 

turned. In fact 1 would rather that these 
ugly brats, the "wooden pasterns," should 
be fathered upon them than not. a-< in that 



case not a stone can have been laid here by 
any other people ; and, of course, Lord Savile 
could have leased to them nothing more than 
his own land and their structure. Whichever 
• way, therefore, we consider the subject. Dr. 
W hitaker's remark is (to use the mildest 
term) ludicrous. "Wooden pasturns" in- 
deed ! ! Whoever before heard of a people 
being sneered at because the roof of a barn 
happened to be prop|>ed with pillars and 
braces? What Tyro in the study of our 
ancient architecture does not know that the 
roofs of such buildings were generally so sup- 
ported during the seventeenth, and perhaps 
sixteenth centuries ? Who has not repeatedly 
seen them in barns all the country over? And 
who would have thought of Sectarians being 
denounced as " inelegant" because they hap- 
pened to case, paint, grain, and varnish these 
vulgar pasturns ? 

I cannot here resist the temptation of 
noticing the singular consistency of this 
learned gentleman, when writing upon the 
subject of the " great rebellion? — as men of 
his cloth call the Civil War of the seventeenth 
century, and censuring the Sectarians who 
were such sad i% Rebels" in that age. u In 
the Civil War of the King and Parliament," 
says he (p. 7r»). •• the inclinations of the 
cloathing districts, in general, greatly pre- 
ponderated in favour of the latter. Their 
* inelegance, : — their stubborn independence, 
and the influence of the puritanical Clergy, 
who swarmed among them, all contributed ii> 
the same end." 

That the manufacturers, and indeed the 
common people generally, of Yorkshire were 
highly incensed at Charles 1st and his govern- 
ment is certain ; and it would have been 
wonderful indeed had they not been so. when 
their laws, their property, nay. even their 
religion was invaded by that haughty and 
perfidious* monarch. It is admitted also that 

our poor countrymen were extremely ineleganl 

and had a high spirit of independence; but 

how a. man's inelegance and independence 
should put him out of love with a govern- 
ment, if really good; or in love with one. if 
really bad. i- not evident t<> an i>rdinar\ 

capacity; and it might, therefore, have been 
a- well to have referred their displeasure to a 

in that curiotu collection " The King - < abinel opened, 
there is a letter of Charles wMch inarks the ohairacter of the 
man beyond question, and discovers Uii rancour, not only to 
Lord Sussex, but to other nobles who bad espoused bis oause. 

In lieu of this piece "t imbecility I will present in tin 

Appendix a irtt<r of the next Ruler, commonly palled "tht 
l swrpt to •_'. 



64 



shrewdness in politics, for which they are 
still remarkable. 

In one of the notes to his publication of Sir 
George Etadcliffe's Letters, the Doctor sneers 
at the government of this country under the 
Republic, oil account of its economy and 
trusty care of the public purse, styling- it " tlie 
frugal and unshewy period of ihe Common- 
wealth ;" and lie illustrates the force of his 
remark by the amusing instance of a Puritan 
Sheriff escorting the Judges at an assize with 
only 140 attendants, whereas, lie alledges, 
that under the Monarchy there was always a 
much larger procession. ] shall not trouble 
myself to inquire about a matter -which is so 
unimportant, and so varying, according to the 
income or ideas of individuals. The remark 
is at best, a childish one. and worthy of 
those who can only be amused with the 
trumpets and rattles and gingerbread show of 
aristocracy. Could the Doctor only have 
shewn that justice was more impartially f or 
ably administered under the Monarchy than 
under the Commonwealth and Protectorate, 
he would have done something; but who 
that ever heard of the Star Chamber and high 
Commission Courts — the trial of Russell. 
Sidney, or Lady Lisle, and the ferocity of 
Jeffries, dare institute a comparison? Or 
who can doubt that, for the people of England 
at large, the two latter governments were 
imspeakably better in every way ? Referring, 
however, to the comparison between the 
"frugal and unshewy period of the Common- 
wealth, a iid tasteless period of Hie Usurpa- 
tion 19 on the one haud, and the Monarchy of 
Charles on the other, as a matter of taste 
only, how different from Dr. Whitaker's was 
the taste of him who sung — 

" Of man's iir&t disobedience, and the fruit 
" Of that forbidden tree, whose mortal taste 
" Brought deatli into the world, and all our woe, 
" With loss of Eden ! " 

'•One day, Sir Robert Eoward, who was a 
friend to Milton." says Bishop Newton; "and 
oik; of his constant visitors to the last, in- 
quired of him how he came to side with the 
Republicans?" Milton answered, ••amongst 
ollur reasons, because, /heirs was the most 
frugal government ; for," said he. il the trap- 
pings of a Monarchy might almost set up mi 
ordinary Republic.* 1 And if such was the 
taste of this immortal man. in the seventeenth, 

what would he have said lo Dr. Whilaker in 

the nineteenth century? Il is indeed on 

i Cromwell's principal judges were Lord Hale, Chief Justice 
Rolle. Atkins, and St. John; hut Glyn, Thorpe, and Wynd 
bam (very tbic men), were al o appointed by him. 



account of iis "frugality" — its pacific nature 
— its equitable principles— its watchful care 
as to public men. and prudent application of 
public monies, that many Sages besides 
Milton have esteemed a Republic as the most 
pure and perfect form of a government which 
was ever yet devised by human wisdom. 

One of the distinguishing characteristics of 
a despotic (Government and a false Religion 
isj " shew" or, in other words, imposture. 
Hence the cunning device of spectacles and 
pomp to keep the multitude engaged, and 
draw off men's thoughts from matters of 
moment; and accordingly we rind that the 
most " shewy" periods in our annals were the 
very worst. Look at the mummeries — the 
pageantry and glitter of the Tudor reigns ; 
or look at long subsequent times when some 
bubble or other has constantly been blown, 
some "bone of contention " constantly thrown 
to divert the public and postpone reform ;§ 
and then look at the '■•tasteless period of the 
usurpation || and unshewy period of the Com- 
monwealth" — Xo "touching for the evil " — 
No "cramp rings" — No "red caps of 
velvet" — No "Maunday Thursdays" — No 
" assumption of divine power or divine right" 
— No "lords of misrule" — No "boy bishops" 
— No "court fools," jesters, minstrels, or 
favourites — No "creeping to the cross," or 
creeping to the court, or creeping to the 
church — No ! no ! but there was something 
which made w ' England famous," as Clarendon 
observed, ww and terrible over the world." 

The second Trust Deed of Morley Chapel 
premises bears date the 17th of May, L687, 
and by it the surviving Trustee, Robert 

X See an account of France, by Miss Plumtre, or Hone's 
Table Book, vol. 3, p. 502. 

§ It would be very amusing if any person would publish a 
regular list of these dainty political devices and fallacies. To 
me it is a matter of regret that I have neglected to collect 
them. However, if 1 was but ten years younger, the public 
should have a pamphlet upon the subject, which is more wanted 
than many people imagine. 

|| One of the fallacies in regard to Cromwell, still kept up 
for political purposes, is a tale about his living in perpetual 
dread of Conspirators to the very last, and of assassination 
also. The same thing, for the very same purposes, was long 
circulated respecting Napoleon, evidently to get rid of the 
hateful recollection or idea of their unprecedented popularity. 
These crafty devices I shall expose hereafter; but to retort 
upon the calumniators after their own fashion (except as to 
fact) how did the Tudors and first Stuarts live in regard to 
fears of this kind'.' Did none of them travel attended by 
locksmiths, by guards, by heralds, who distributed money and 
bribes? by minstrels and buffoons, employed for other pur- 
poses than those private amusement'. Were not their beds made 
by persons who tried with their daggers whether there were 
••"am ontrewth therein?" Was not every dish " tasted " by 
many, besides the officer of that department, before even the 
renowned Elizabeth durst touch it? Yes! it is a fact, 
studiously kept out of sight by base and venal writers, that 
these miserablea lived in perpetual dread and anxiety, as well 
they might ; but the impudence of transferring their con- 
scious guilt to a man lik« Cromwell is amusing indeed. 



.;:, 



Paulden, assigns to John Snowden, of Scliole- 
croft ; Thomas Dawson, Thomas Craister, 
James Hanson, John Coppendall, Thomas 
Scatcherd, Samuel Ward, \Villiam Roebuck, 
and John Crowther, of Morley ; Jeremy 
Bolton, Jolm Dickenson, and Joshua Bilk- 
head, of Gildersome ; and Joshua Hanson 
and Daniel Pickering, of Churwell. 

Of these Trustees I have little to relate, as 
they lived for the most part in times very 
different from their predecessors. Thomas 
Dawson seems to have been a son of Abraham 
Dawson, of Morley, who died the 19th of 
November, 1671, aged 61 years. At all 
events, Mr. Dawson, the ejected Minister, 
was a son of his; and it was this Abraham 
who lent John Fozzard (one of the Farnley 
Wood Conspirators) a horse as before slated. 

Thomas Scatcherd (my great great grand- 
father) was the eldest son of Matthew Scat- 
cherd, an opulent merchant, in the proudest 
days of England's glory.* On the 14th of 
July, 1656, this Matthew was married, at 
Batley, to Miss Elizabeth Hudson, who 
brought him two other sons — Matthew and 
John, and several daughters. Besides his 
personal property he had handsome real 
estates at Morley, Birstal, Heckmondwike, 
and Healey. He died and was interred at 
Batley, in 1688, the year of the second 
Revolution. His wife died the 25th of 
August, 1715, in the 84th year of her age, 
and was laid at Morley. 

In 1687 (the year in which he was elected 
a Trustee) Thomas Scatcherd married .Miss 
Jane Smurthwaite, a descendant, tnosl likely, 
of that John Smurthwaite, of Morley, who 
died 25th of September, 1643. His tomb- 
stone shews that he died the 20th of May, 
1700, his wife having previously left him a 
widower, on the 4th of September, 1691, 
when she was ,4 cut off" (as is recorded) " in 
the bloom of life." 

1 have in my possession an instrumenl 
(purporting to be conveyance of a pew in the 
Chapel) to this Thomas Scatcherd, from one 
John Reyner, whom I guess, al this time, to 
have been elected clerk a1 the Chapel. It 
bears date 1698, and as 1 perceive from dates 

"The prevalence," says Hume, "of democratical prin- 
ciples, engaged the country gentlemen to bind then 
apprentices to merchants, and commerce b | ,-:i 

more honourable in England than In an ropean 

kingdom. The exclusive companies, which had formerly oon 
tined trade, were never i spressly abolished by anj 
but as men paid no regard to the prerogative whence the 
charter of these companies were derived, the monoplj 
gradually Invaded, and commerce Increased with the feci 
of liberty." See also Burnet's Own Times, vol I. p L4fl 



of the same period, or thereabouts, cut upon 
the pew doors, and attached to the names of 
other known Dissenter-, that a general turn- 
out, or change of ownership, took place then. 
I am persuaded my conjecture as to the cause 
of ir is pretty accurate. The family next 
mentioned were a part of the flock which now 
returned to their ancient fold. 

John Dickinson was related to William 
Dickinson, the Farnley Wood Plotter, but in 
what degree cannot now be discovered. Till 
lately his name, cut upon a pew at the North 
angle of the Chapel, with the date 1698, was 
visible, but it is now covered with green cloth 
and brass nails, for the gratification of a new 
member of the Congregation, who has put up 
a new seat in it. Respecting John Dickinson 
I have only to relate that he it was who built 
Gildersome "Old Hall" — that he turned 
Quaker at the close of life — that, with his 
daughter Hannah, he lies interred within the 
Chapel, at the West corner, and that the 
family long lived in Gildersome Street. 

Jeremy Bolton lies near his fellow Trustee. 
I cannot find that any other Trustees have 
been buried within the Chapel. 

Till' next Trust Deed bears date June 22nd, 
1721, and the Trust Premises art- thereby 
assigned, by Birkhead and Ianson, to Samuel 
Scale-herd, John Dawson. William Lister. 
John Crooker, Benjamin Dixon, Joseph 
Dixon, Nathaniel Slack, Thomas Ilemsworth, 
•Jonathan Fothergill, John Ellis, the younger, 
John Webster,"f the younger, Samuel Greet- 
head, William Clarke. Joshua Reyner, Isaac 

Crowther, Samuel Webster, and Jeremy 
Swii'i, of Morley; William Leathley, of 

Churwell ; and Samuel Birkhead and John 
Milner, of Gildersome. 

As the Assignments appear, generally, to 
have been from surviving Trustees to the 
relatives of those deceased, and their own 

sons, I shall say little respecting them, merely 
adverting to such Trustees as were of most 
consequence in their day. Among the num- 
ber of these stands first and pre-eminent on 

the list. Samuel, the eldest son of Thomas 

tcherd, yet not so much for anything else 

as mi account of an alliance which raised him 

Considerably; lor he had the honour to be 

i [1 ooeptable here to note that the name of the 

i whom I can discover living at Bforley i-* Richard 

Webster, married in L676 t<> Johan Watson Webster, like 

the name of Walker, ami an tnflnitj ><i" other names, ■ 

from the tra i<- or business which the nr.st of the name f"i 

Lowe i An Instance may be foun i in axohsBoL vol i". p 98, 

from u "i' book "i 1501, relating to Louth Steeple, 

•• Received of the webstera and Walk* rs of their light," *v<- . 

thirty shi in* See further, p 89 of the same volume. 



K<; 



accepted as Qusbai dto Miss Alary Greatheed, 

addaughter to the Major — a ladj of whom 

were 1 to write but a part of what people 

have related, who knew her well, tin* reader, 

perhaps, would say that 1 had borrowed a 
character From romance, and not from real 
life. From this consideration 1 abstain. 
Respecting her husband, suffice it to observe 
that from a boisterous country gentleman he 
was converted, by this connection, into a 
decent, rational, and sober man. 

Of John Dawson little can be said, more 
than that he was the father of a gentleman 
of that name, in the next set of Trustees, and 
owner of a handsome property in this village. 
Bis father was. probably, that Thomas Daw- 
son before mentioned as a Trustee, and who 
built the house bearing date 1683, well 
situated — but wretchedly planned. 

Samuel Great head's pedigree is unknown to 
me, but I incline to think he was descended 
from Captain Nicholas Greathead, who 
appears, from a document in my possession, 
to have had lour sons. The Captain certainly 
died before 1668, but probably soon after the 
Civil A\ r ar, and some circumstances persuade 
me he was related to the Major. Nor is my 
belief weakened by the names being spelt 
differently, for until the early part of the 
seventeenth century nothing can be more un- 
certain and varying than was our national 
orthography, especially in names. Besides I 
do not know 7 how the Captain wrote his own 
name, J but ®nly how others spelt for him. 
He had a son under age, hi 1668, from wdiom 
this Samuel may have sprung, and he pro- 
bably did so, if dependence can be placed on 
such hear-say evidence as I have casually 
met with ; but there were so many families of 
this name, hereabouts, in the seventeenth 
century, and they spelt their names so differ- 
ently, that nothing certain can be discovered. 

By Indenture, dated August 25th, 1763 
(being the year in which the once venerable 
Mr. Morgan came to Morley), Samuel Scat- 
cherd, the elder. Samuel Webster, tin 1 elder, 
and Jeremy Swift, assigned the Trust Premises 
to John Dawson, Samuel Scatcherd, the 
younger. Robert Dixon, Joseph Ellis, William 

Reyner, Nathaniel Webster, Joseph Webster. 

John Bemsworth, Thomas Reyner, Samuel 
Webster, the younger, and .Joseph Webster, 
the elder. ;ill of Morley ; George Aired, John 

: it seems to me evidenl that in the seventeenth century 

people did QOl always Bpell their own names alike, and 1 

have somewlitic read thai sir Walter Kalelgb spelt ins seven* 
trrn different wai • 



Eeyner. and Samuel Leathley, all of Chur- 
well ; Joseph Asqtdth and Henry Scatcherd, 
of Gildersome ; Win. Leathley, of New-Hall ; 
and Samuel Dawson, of Topcliffe. And, 
lastly, by Deed. September 3rd, 1790, Joseph 
Webster and Samuel Webster, assign to 
Watson Scatcherd, Esq., John Gisburn, John 
Wetherill, John Webster, the younger, John 
Garnet, and Thomas Crooker, of Morley ; 
Samuel Wetherill. of Millshaw ; John Reyner, 
of Leeds ; John Boyle, of Ilaigh-Moor ; Miles 
Shirtcliffe, of Churwell ; Abraham Dawson, 
of Topcliffe ; and Joseph Asquith, Robert 
Ellis, John Rolling's. Samuel Gaimt, John 
Wormald, William Asquith, Juo. Jackson, 
and Daniel Slack, of Morley. 

John Dawson, mentioned in the former of 
the two last Deeds, was the father-in-law of 
Alexander Wedderburn, afterwards Lord 
Loughborough — Lord High Chancellor of 
England — and Lord Bosslyn. While a 
Barrister upon the Northern Circuit he became 
acquainted with Miss Daw r son, of Morley, 
and has often visited this village. Lady 
Loughboro' died in 1779, and lies interred at 
Morley, where a handsome stone, but of bad 
materials, and ill executed as to engraving, 
was erected to her memory. His Lordship 
married again, and survived his first wife 
many years. From the newspaper accounts, 
it should seem that he delighted to bask in 
the beams of Royalty, and the more so as the 
winter of his age advanced. 

Of his Lordship's father-in-law I can say 
but little. He did himself some credit in 
resisting, with success, as a Trustee of the 
Chapel, a most unconscientious claim of a 
Vicar of Batley, to burial (if not baptismal) 
dues ; but otherwise he did little good to the 
village; and, as a neighbour, I have reason 
to think his room, when dead, was worth 
quite as much as his society when living. In 
truth he left behind him a convincing proof 
of his arrogance and parsimony in the erection 
of a pew more like a calf's crib than the seat 
of a gentleman of fortune, by which he 
modestly deprived his townsmen of one-half 
of the East window in the chancel — a piece 
of lumber which, on my suggestion, was 
swept away by order of the Trustees many 
years ago. 

But if the conduct of Mr. Dawson was 
meritorious in resisting aggression, much 
more so was that of Mr. Boyle (a succeeding 
Trustee) though under another form. A 



K7 



desperate gang- of fellows, capable of any 
mischief or crime, had some years ago been 
for a long time the scourge and terror of the 
neighbourhood, and it was well known that 
some of them were natives of Morley. To 
them were associated other characters of the 
same description from Lee-Fair ; and these 
villains being strong in numbers, and in con- 
nections, had repeatedly derided the impotency 
of our laws, and the poverty of prosecutors. 
But Providence kindly ordered that justice 
should at length overtake a few of them. 
On the evening of July the 25th, 1824, the 
robbery of Mr. Boyle's house was planned by 
one Samuel Dixon, the chief of the band, 
while drinking at a public-house in Dewsbury 
on the fair day ; and the conversation was 
overheard by the sister of a young man whom 
they had persuaded to join them. It was 
also evidenced by two persons on the road to 
Lee- Fair ; who, counterfeiting intoxication 
and somnolency, had listened to their dis- 
course. Three circumstances appear to have 
encouraged the gang upon this occasion. Mr. 
Boyle was above 80 years of age, very feeble, 
and was supposed to be (as in fact he had 
just been) very ill — his house was situate in a 
lonely spot, and a bad neighbourhood — nor 
had he any help but in his wife and servant 
girl. And, lastly, it was known that he had 
recently received his rents. In short, if ever 
villainy was likely to be triumphant it seemed 
so to these ruffians, who were five or six in 
number. 

Arriving at Mr. Boyle's dwelling about one 
o'clock in the morning, the gang broke a 
pane of glass, and opened the shutter of the 
kitchen window, which, falling back, threw 
down some things behind it, and awakened 
Elizabeth Balmforth, the servanl ; who, per- 
ceiving a light in the room below, crept 
softly out of bed and alarmed her master; 
first, however, securing the door upon the 
garret stairs, and which opened upon the 
landing of the better rooms. How fortunate 
her presence of mind was, appeared in an 
instant, by the general rush which was, in- 
effectually, made at this door. Happily it 
gave time to Mr. Boyle, who otherwise had. 
in all probability, been overpowered and 
murdered, with his hapless inmates; but 
snatching up a carbine, which had been loaded 
with ball, about lira years, and a double 
barrelled pistol, which he put into his pocket. 
this intrepid veteran, followed by his wife, 
with a drawn sword, marched down (he 



principal stair.-, and seeing a fellow just 
within the kitchen door he tired his carbine 
in an instant, reserving his pistol, as he told 
me, for any one who should attempt to seize 
him. But cowardice and villany are often 
associated in the same individuals, and so ii 
proved in this instance: for the report of a 
gun so intimidated the miscreants, who were 
plundering the girl's room, or trying to force 
the other door, that they hurried down stairs, 
and tied precipitately. "The family, thus left, 
soon fastened anew their door and window, 
but sate up, of course, till the day began to 
dawn ; when, peeping out of a window, they 
spied a knot of people on the moor, about 
one hundred and fifty yards off, busily engaged 
in removing the man whom Mr. Boyle fancied 
he had missed, but who now appeared to be 
writhing in the last agonies. He proved to 
be one John Scott, of Morley, and in 
his pockets were found silver spoons and 
valuables, the property of Mr. Boyle. Ih 
was brother to the girl who had over- 
heard the conversation at Dewsbury, and 
would have drawn him from his confederates. 
He was benumbed with the night air and the 
cold ground, and nearly exhausted by loss.. I 
blood ; yet he betrayed no remorse — lie made 
no confession — he discovered no penitence. — 
Borne on ;i window shutter to the nearest 
alehouse, he maintained a fidelity to his 
comrades worthy of a better cause. The 
blood oozed from his side — he complained 
only of thirst. His cravings now were limited 
to a drop of water, which, having taken, he 
gave a convulsive struggle, and Jay stretched 

in the stillness and silence of death. 

h w:i- ii'.i ion-- before some "i the othei 
fugitives were apprehended, two of whom, 

namely. Samuel Dixon and William Thomas, 

alias Sailor Will, were committed f<> York 
Castle — tried, convicted on the clearest 

evidence, and sentenced to death; but, by 

one of those strange, mysterious casualties, 

which are seriously UJUlioUS !<» the puUic, 

this penalty was commuted to that of trans- 
portation beyond seas; >" that, by waj of 
example and reparation i" society here, they 
have I km ii sent to plague, and. peradventure, 

to corrupt and injure people i M a distant 

colony. at the COSl of an n\erhurt heiied 

nation, and without affording to their Peers 

No one, i presume, can Imagine thai i mean anything 
more than to xty, that tin- transportation "i oapital male 
factors, Incorrigible, abandoned, reprobate . can only i„- 
attended with .-hum- such oonseqneni i ind, mn U 

aU are of this class, who can bring no evidence to charai 
iu'i are old In villainy, bowi rex roun flny 



68 



thai salutary lessoD which reason and justice 
demanded. 

Whilst writing upon this Bubject, 1 must 
be allowed to mention another case of still • 
more heinous guilt in this neighbourhood, 
which, but two years before, was attended 

with the same results. 

Ab»»ut four o'clock in the morning of 
February the 7th. L822, the family of Thomas 
HeUewell, a small publican, living- at Brunt- 
cliffe, we alarmed by a cry of fire, and soon 
perceived their stack-garth, and one or two 
of their slacks to be in flames. The fire, in 
fact, had nearly consumed a stack of clover, 
had communicated to one of corn, and had 
reached the very threshold of a barn and 
mistal of theirs, in which about thirteen head 
of cattle were confined. The whole would, 
certainly, have been burned to ashes, and an 
industrious, poor family utterly ruined, had 
not a watchful, superintending- Providence 
interposed, and their neighbours assisted at a 
critical moment. When I relate but a few of 
the circumstance's which led to the detection 
of the incendiary, the reader, I am persuaded, 
will exclaim with me — " Surely the finger* of 
Providence was there." 

]| was so ordered, upon this occasion, that 
a slight snow had just fallen on the ground, 
but quite sufficient for tracing the footsteps 
of a man who appears to have worn remark- 
able shoes. One of them had been evidently 
spetched with a clumsy strip of leather on 
the sole, and both of them left the impression 
of their clog nails so perfect, that not only 
the number, but shape of them was manifest. 
The fellow had, clearly, come up a field on 
the North East side — had tried to enter the 
mistal, and had come into the fold by getting 
over the fence wall — no other footsteps on 
the premises appeared. 

f lad this calamity befallen ninety-nine men 
out of every hundred, it is probable that, in 
i he bustle and confusion which ensued, the 
traces of the miscreant had been lost; but 
HeUewell is a man of singular activity, 
courage, and sagacity, and ho displayed it at 
this time with no less honour to himself than 
advantage to the public. Roused up to 
energies nearly superhuman, ho flew from 
place \n place i" restrain the wandering of 
those whom ho Eearecl might obliterate the 

footmarks of the incendiary, and hunting him 

backwards to hi- house, in Neepshaw-lane, 

Napoleon's cxprc:>"ion « ben MOTCau was killed by a cannon 



and thence to Morley and Beeston, with the 
fleetness of a bloodhound, he overtook and 
seized him, with the very shoes upon his feet, 
before eight o'clock on the same morning-. 

T<> make my story as short as possible, 
other evidence soon came out which placed 
I he guilt of John Vickers beyond a doubt. 
Revenge, it appears, founded on the most 
trivial, or rather no real. • provocation, had 
instigated him to the perpetration of one of 
the- blackest in the catalogue of crimes. He 
had long- been regarded as a fellow of the 
vilest and most dangerous description; and 
his conduct both upon his trial, (which I 
witnessed) and even after his sentence, was 
quite compatible to the common opinion. He 
made no defence — he called no evidence to 
character — he fleered at the solemnities of 
the Court, and the dignity of the Judge ; — 
like Guy Faux, in the reign of James, "lie 
shewed no concern about anything' but the 
failure of his project" — no person, or cir- 
cumstance, that I know of, recommended him 
to mercy, and every spectator, I believe, 
considered him lost. Will it then be credited, 
that this wretch was, at an expense of, 
perhaps, sixty or seventy pounds, merely sent 
over seas to the beautiful climate and country 
of New South Wales, and that the rumour 
has been, that he is now thriving- there as a 
malster ? Well may people say, " They order 
these things better in France," — to say 
nothing- of a half-civilized country, such as 
Russia. But why. may we ask, should a 
sickly sensibility be ever allowed to stand in 
the path of strict justice, and the public- 
safety? Why should a person suffer for 
what may be done without opportunity of 
reflection, and in a tumult of passion, or from 
something' like necessity — if the cold — the 
deliberate, midnight incendiary t is to be 
spared? And why should men — in other 
respects — save one solitary act — the bene- 
factors and the ornaments of their country — 
an Aram or a Dodd, be executed, it' such 
infernals as 1 alluded to are worthy to exist? 

To change the subject, and resume my 
account of the principal Trustees of Morley 
Chapel, 1 would willingly dwell upon the first 

name on the last deed, if propriety allowed it. 
Ihii it would far better become any other 

Mr. Eellewell's offence w.vs merely pointing out this 
fellow's dwelling to an officer who made inquiry of him, 
having a distress for rent, or an execution upon his goods. 

f There cannot he a doubt, I think, that the able and 
upright judge who respited this criminal, was somehow or 
other grossly deceived or Imposed upon. 



*3 



person to speak of him than myself, and 1 

only get the better of my reluctance to do so 
from an impression, that to pass him by in 
silence is scarcely consistent with my duty, 
either as an historian or a relative — besides 
which, there are, probably, some few who 
regard his memory, and may desire to know 
what little I shall add respecting him. 
Waiving then all false shame, or affected 
modesty, — in 1778. he married Prances, third 
daughter of the Rev. John Fountaine, Rector 
of North Tidmouth, in Wiltshire, (an inti- 
mate friend of the celebrated Handel.) who. 
in the fine ancient Manor-house, at Mary- 
le-bone, first the property of (lie Crown, and, 
afterward-, of the Duke of Portland, kept one 
of the largest and most genteel seminaries in 
London. He was educated in the law. under 
Warren. an eminent special pleader. For 
about thirty years he practised as a Banister, 
and, in \c\-y unpleasant times, served the 
pul >lie as a Magistrate, without any profit to 
himself, or inordinate benefit to his clerk. 
What he was to this district — to his relations 
— but especially to his poor neighbours, it 
becomes not me to say ; yet, one thing, for 
the sake of those to whom chiefly I address 
myself, 1 will testify, which is, that from my 
youth, upwards, I cannot recollect him guilty 
"fan immoral action, or even an improper 
expression. Of immorality, in lad, under 
every form, ho was a severe Censor, but he 
never forgave the man who offended his 
delicacy. 

.Mr. Grisburn, the next upon the list, was. 
for many years, the only surgeon and apothe- 
cary in the neighbourhood. Ho was a 
facetious man, and skilful in his profession; 
whatever were his failings they hurt nobody 
but himself, and his loss was generally 
lamented. 

The only other Trustee whom 1 shall 
mention is, Mr. Samuel Wetherill, who died, 
May 20th, 1826, aged about eighty years. 
To this gentlemen I was indebted for the 
Topcliffe Register, for some information in 
this volume, and for a zeal to afford me 
literary assistance, in which he was only 
equalled by another friend. lie it was who 
presented me with a copy of Mr. Wales's 
sermons— the very copy which had belonged 
to Lady Wharton. Iloii was who accom- 
panied me in my rambles to the Tingley 
Burial-ground, and who, more than all other 
person, has given me information as i<» the 
Societies of Topcliffe and Woodchurch. Lie 



was remarkably conversant in the ecclesiasti- 
cal history of the seventeenth century, and, 
having both a taste for antiquities, and an 
excellent memory, his society was always 
profitable: but that for which .Mr. Wetherill 
was most distinguished, was the equality and 
sweetness of his temper, the propriety and 
consistency of his conduct. Speaking of him 
from the experience of my whole life, 1 can 
truly say— 

" He ne'er gave me cause to complain, 
" Till that fatal day when he died, " 

thai I never looked on him without pleasure, 
that he never met me without a smile. 
Wherever else then they may flourish in our 
Chapel yard, the nettle and the briar shall 
never appear beside the grave of my revered 
comrade, for they have no business to grow 
there. 

This subject naturally loads me to our 
"Chapel Yard.'' whither, I hope, the reader 
will not fear to follow me. But, before we 
come to that place, I wish to commemorate 

one or two things of some interest to my 
neighbours, though of little to the public. 

The first relates to the men who officiated 
as clerks to our old Ministers and Congre- 
gation. These from the time of <>ld Stainer, 
the Church clerk, down to the commencement 
of this century, were there in number — 
namely, John Reyner, next Joseph Hague, 
who succeeded him. about 1727. and Nathaniel 
Slack, who was clerk in the limes of Mr. 



Mor 



•^ 



and Mr. la 



But the person of whom I am mosl solicitous 
to make mention, is "Id John Chappel, who 

lived in a house near the vestry chamber. 

where his mother an old school-mistn - . 
taught me my alphabet. John was the 
village carrier to Leeds, a remarkably honest, 
sober man. but quite an original of his kind. 
Music to him was every thing: especially if 
it belonged to Handel, Boyce, Green, or Kent. 

J le was an old bachelor ; and Seated in his 

arm chair, with a number of line fat tabby 
cats, his music books, and violoncello, a king 

might have em ied him hi- happiness. Ai ;< 
very early age, John had got so well drilled 
in the science of " Sol-fa-ing," thai he could 

catch up his distances, very correctly, when 
tinging in parts, and attempting a new piece. 

This is a v. o different character from that given to Bogei 
<U- Nbrthborougn, a Bishop ol I lchfleld > ofwhom it i observed 
by Qodwyn, that, after having sat there for thirt] eight i 
be had done nothing worthy of commendation, "Nisi forte 
boo nets factum dinamua </(/"</ mortuv i hope I mlwj-n 

remembered an tda ■ De mortals nil nisi vonuu." 



and he was outrageously violent with those 
who possessed nbl the same talent Being 
"cock of tlit i walk." in the gallery of the 
Old Chapel, he, unfortunately, so intimidated 
inosi of his pupils, thai they soughl harmony, 
less intermingled with discords, a1 the 
Calvinist Chapel, and we losl an excellent 
singer (Ananiah Ellingworth) from this cause 
alone. Bu1 old John repaid, by his zeal and 
fidelity, the injury which he < lid us by his 
petulence; and I wish it were possible for 
me to presenl the reader with his portrait, as 
be frequently appeared. Year after year, and 
Sabbath after Sabbath, morning and after- 
noon, in the coldest and most inclement 
weather — yea up to the knees in snow, 
would old "Cheetham" trudge with his 
beloved violoncello, carrying it with all the 
care and tenderness that a woman does her 
babe But, Oh ! to see him with his bantling 
between his kees, the music books elevated, 
his spectacles mounted on a fine bowing nose, 
(between the Roman and the Aquiline) sur- 
rounded by John Bilbrough, with his left- 
handed iiddle. a man who played a wretched 
flute, and a set of young lads yelping about 
him, was a sight for a painter. On the other 
hand, to have heard him, on his return from 
Leeds, with his heavy cart and old black 
horse, singing one of Dr. Boyce's airs— 
•• Softly rise, southern breeze," with a voice 
between a tenor and counter-tenor, would 
have delighted even the Doctor himself. 
All! those days, when modest worth, rural 
innocence, and unostentatious piety, were 
seen in the village, in many a living example, 
I can scarcely think on without a tear. First 
on a Sunday morning came the excellent 
•• Natty," as humble, pious, and moral a man, 
as I ever knew ; then followed old John, 
with his regiment, and next, the venerable 
Pastor, in his clerical hat, and large cauli- 
flower or full bottomed wig — tall, erect, dig- 
nified, and serious ; with an appearance which 
would have suited the Cathedral at York, and 
a countenance which might have stood in the 



place of 



a sermon. 



But I must not indulge 



myself upon this subject, so I turn lo one of 
a very different nature. 

The most ancienl Btone in our Burial- 
ground is over one William TompSOU, who 
died in duly, L667. Stephen Tompson, his 

son I believe, and who died the 8th July, 

1675, is interred beside him. In an old MS. 
j find i hem members of the Congregation at 
Morli 



Near to these slabs is the tomb of i; Dorothy, 
daughter of the celebrated Edmund Waller, 
of Beaconsfield, in the County of Bucks, who 
died .January 18th, 1717. in the 61st year of 
her age." 

History, 1 believe, makes no further men- 
tion ot" this lad} r than that " she was a dwarf, 
and was sent down into the North for her 
health." She lived in this village some years 
— at first in a house on Banks-hill, call the 
" Yew Tree House," built by a family called 
Huntington, and purchased by her from 
them; but latterly, in lodging's nearer to the 
" Parsonage-house." In fact she had become, 
or was, constitutionally, a cripple; and was 
carried in a sedan-chair to, and from, the 
Chapel. By the villagers she was called 
"Madame* Waller," — was treated with a 
deserved respect, and left behind her a '' good 
name." 

The Gentleman who directed the inscription 
above mentioned has called this Lady's father 
•'the celebrated Edmund Waller." That 
excellent Prelate, Hough. Bishop of Wor- 
cester, also calls him u tlie famous Mr. 
Waller." It will relieve the dullness of topo- 
graphical detail, and ornament my volume 
considerably, to shew the propriety of this 
epithet. 

Edmund Waller was born on the 3rd of 
March, 1605, at Coleshill, hi Hertfordshire; 
but his parents lived at Agmondesham, or (by 
contraction) Amersham, in Buckinghamshire, 
for which place, after leaving King's College, 
Cambridge, he was chosen Member, and sate 
in the last Parliament of James 1st, at the 
early age of seventeen years. He was 
brought up at Eton School, and must, indeed, 
have been an apt scholar to be considered fit 
for College and the Senate at such an age. 
His mother was the sister of the Patriot 
Hampden, and had the still higher honour of 
being related to Cromwell ; but she was, 
evidently, a woman of narrow mind, and of 
as abject, if not versatile a spirit as was her 
son. In 1640, Waller was again returned 
Member for Amersham, and in 1643 engaged 
in a plot against the Government (then 
Republican) which, with the duplicity and 

The term " Madame " was, formerly, only applied to a 
lady of a superior order, and " Mistress " to a single lady in 
general. The word " Miss " only began to be used ill the reign 
of Charles 2nd, and was at first applied only to a prostitute, 
as we tind that Mademoiselle Querouaille, sent, by the court 
of Prance, to corrupt his "sacred Majesty," and afterwards 
Duchess of Portsmouth, was "made a Miss' by thai " Merry 
Monarch." See Memoir- of Bvolyn, 



cowardice which, on his detection, he dis- 
played, must ever be a blot on his escutcheon. 
Being mercifully -pared under an administra- 
tion little addicted to blood, but fined in the 
penalty of ten thousand pounds, and banished 
the country; to raise this sum he sold his 
estates, and went to France. Here he 
remained until Cromwell came into power, 
who. with his usual clemency and greatness 
of soul, not only permitted the return of 
Waller, but forgave his delinquency. Such 
benevolence would nave affected a worse 
heart than Waller's, and accordingly we find 
that he not only wrote an admirable panegyric 
upon Oliver, in 1 654, but followed it up by 
another poem, which ends thus — 

" His conquering heart has no more room for bays- 
Then let it be, as a glad nation prays : 
Let the rich ore forthwith be melted down, 
And the State rixt by making him a enow n ." 

But Cromwell, who neither had occasion 
for, or wanted, people to commend him. most 
evidently saw into the Poet's drift, and 
understood his character; for he took no 
notice of him at all. When, therefore, he 
composed his fine poem " Upon the death of 
the Protector." one may well believe it flowed 
from the genuine emotions of the heart. — 

11 We ijmmJ resign !— Heaven his great soul does claim, 
In storms as loud as his immortal fame." 

» Tis an ill Poet, however, thai knows not 
how to trim," as Waller's biographer remarks. 

and accordingly we find that he congratulated 
Charles 2nd. in •• a poem upon his Majesty's 
happy return in 1660," and became the 
OOUrtier— the buffoon, and bottle companion 
of the "Merry Monarch." He sat also in 
Parliament during this and the succeeding 
re ig- n not as Member, however, for Amor- 
sham, but for some rotten Cornish Borough, 
which his venality procured him. With 
.lames the 2nd also. Waller was a favourite ; 
yet. it is said, he was "in the secrei of the 
Revolution, and would often predict that the 
King would be lefl like a whale upon the 
Btrand;" but he charged some aboui him not 

to meddle till they should see the Triliee of 

Orange "actually" landed, al which time hia 
son and heir, Edmund Waller, "actually" 
went over to that i Prince. 

This "<>ld was the rich prize taken from the Spaniar la by 
Cromwell's immortal Admiral Blake, equally distinguished 
for patriotism and virtue, as for bravery .'1114 talent 

t Hero we have an exact picture "f a "loyal life an 1 

fortune" centleman Could we know the contents of Richard 

Cromwell-, "Old BOX,' or ,,| -"Hie Stuart Papers," there 

would he abundant edification for us upon such subjects. 
Since writing the above i lee i; Mitel in the Newspapers that 
these documents, the Stuart Papers, are Intrusted to Walter 
Scott to briiiK forth V V9TJ tit person, indeed, judging of him 
from his life of Napoleon 



So much for the political character of a 
man whose " celebrity " must ever rest upon 
his lineage — his connections with the great, — 
but. above all, on his poetic and literary 
qualifications; for illustrating which. 1 turn 
to the most pleasing part of my sketch, and 
will give the reader a specimen of both. But. 
before I do so. 1 must mention one thing by 
way of preliminary. 

After the death of his firsl wife; Anne, the 

daughter and heiress of Edward Banks, Esq., 

Waller became enamoured with the Lady 
Dorothy Sidney, who was the " Saccharissa n 
of his muse, in the sweet twenty-fifth year of 
his age. She was the daughter of Lord 
Leicester, and wife, at length, t" the first 
Earl of Sunderland.* To this lady, among 
other poems, the following exquisite trifle 
appears to have been addressed : — 

" Go, lovely Rose- 
Tell her that wastes her time and me, 

That now she knows. 
When I resemble her to thee, 
How sweet and fair she seems to be. 

Tell her that's young, 
And shuns to have her graces spied, 

That hadst thou sprang 
In deserts, where no men abide. 
Thou must have uncommended died. 

Small is the worth 
Of beauty, from the light retir d. 

Hid her come forth ! 
Suffer herself to be desir'd. 
And not blush so to be admir'd. 

Then die, that she 
(The common fate of all things rare.) 

May read in thee— 
How small a part of time they share 
That are so wondrous sweet and fair 1" 

After the marriage of Lady Dorothy. 
Waller, it seems, addressed a letter of con- 
gratulation to her sister. Lady Lucy Sidney, 
which, being the best specimen of his prose, 

that 1 have seen, shall be here united to that 
of his poety. 

•• Madame. 

•• In this common joy. al Penshuret, 

I know none to whom complaint- may come 
less unseasonable than to your Ladyship, the 

loss of a bedfellow being almost equal t<> thai 
of a mistress; and. therefore, you ought to 
pardon, if you consent not to the imprecations 

nf -the deserted. 't whieh just heaven in. 

doubt will hear. 

" May my Lady Dorothy, if yet wo may 

call her so. suitor as much, and have the like 

passion for this young Lord, whom -ho hath 
preferred to the rest of mankind. :i- others 

have had for her: and may this low. before 

third l.ord Bneno I I Sunderland. 

b\ name Henry . Dibdius Uides AlthOT] 

\ one would Imagine from this expression thai theaddi 
o\ w.tii'T to the Ladj Dorothy had Men encouraged. 



7:' 



the year goes out. make her baste the first 
corse of womankind — the pains of becoming 
a mother. — May her first-born be none of her 
own sox. nor so like her, 1 >ut he may resemble 
her Lord as much as herself. — May she. thai 
hath always affected silence and retiredness, 
have the house filled with the noise and 
number of her children, and hereafter, of her 
grandchildren; and then may she arrive at 
that great curse so much declined by fair 
Ladies — old age. — May she live to be very 
old. yet seem young, be told so by her glass, 
and have no aches t<» inform her of the truth. 
-And when she shall appear to he mortal'* 
may her Lord not mournt lor her. but go 
hand in hand with her to that place, where, 
we are told, 'there is neither marrying nor 
giving- in marriage/ t hat, being there divorced, 
wo may all have an interest in her again. My 
revenge being immortal, I wish all this may 
befal their posterity to the world's end, and 
afterwards. 

" To you, Madame, I wish all good things, 
and thai, this loss may be happily supplied by 
a more constant bedfellow of the other sex. 

" Madame, I humbly kiss your hands, and 
beg pardon for this trouble, from your Lady- 
ship's most humble servant. 

" E. WALLER." 

It is not unlikely that Miss Waller, of 
Morley, was called " Dorothy," after the 
Poet's " Saccharissa ;" at all events there is a 
plaintive tenderness, and a beauty of expres- 
sion in this letter, which makes it worthy of 
regard. 

Near the sepulchre of Miss Waller, is one 
of a personage who. though of superior rank 
and form to the Poet's daughter, was by no 
means her equal in other respects, if the 
tradition handed down to me be correct. As 
the slab containing her memorial is a, soft blue 
stone, and may in a lew years be illegible, in 
spite of my <-i,si and trouble to preserve it, I 
must here, reluctantly, fall into the book- 
making practice of giving the epitaph at 
length. 

•'• Within this Tomb lie (he Remains of the 
Right Honourable Lady Loughborough, Wife 
of Alexander Lord Loughborough, Lord Chiei 
Justice of the Common Pleas. She was the 

Tliis. in ay opinion, is a most delicate and beautiful com- 
pliment, and t pity 'I.'- ta ti of that man. who is not a- much 
enraptured witt it, in another way, an Waller was with hia 
Dorothy. 

I He apostatized from the c i lorn, and, in about 

three yean from this time tie fellal the battle of Newbury 
(in 1648). aged twenty-thn Kei Dibdin. p. 2fl ; and Hume, 
p 



- .nl\ Daughter of John Dawson. Esq., and his 
Win- Elizabeth. Her Ladyship died the 14th 
of February, 1781, aged 36." 

But there are tombs in this Burial-ground 
far more interesting' than this. I mean the 
t umhs <.f the ejected Ministers. Through my 
solicitude, and at my expense, they also have 
been preserved, and will, 1 hope, at least be 
cared for by my posterity, should succeeding 
generations have no better taste and senti- 
ments than our villagers have at present. 

The first, and my favourite stone, is that 
over " Robert Pickering, Master* of Arts, of 
Sidney Sussex College. Cambridge, and 
Preacher of the Gospel at Morley; who 
accounted himself the meanest servant in the 
work of Jesus Christ," and departed this life 
October 11th, 1680. 

That the ejected Ministers did, unfeignedly. 
account themselves as servants, and account- 
able servants too, is manifest from the history 
of their lives ; and that such was the real 
sentiment of Robert Pickering, though a 
Master + of Arts, and a man of talent, there 
can be no doubt. Humility is, in fact, one of 
the first fruits of religion, and this venerable 
man had long passed through the elements of 
a Christian education. His principles and 
his "taste" were different — very different 
from that of those who talk about the 
" tasteless period of the Usurpation" 
and " unshewy yeriod of the Commonwealth" 
The high sounding titles of " Dominus Deus 
noster Papa- alter Deus in terra — Rex Regum 
— Dominus Dominorum ; or of William, by 
divine permission, Lord Archbishop, Primate 
of all England, and Metropolitan," with 
their equipages, attendants, and other good 
things, are peculiarly enchanting to some 
people; but Robert Pickering, educated in 
another school, had long sat at the feet of 
his beloved master, " whose kingdom is not 
of this world," and there had received those 
edifying lessons which qualified him for his 
office. What wonder then, if he preferred 
to the foregoing, the artless, modest, and 

'i'li is was a very appropriate description as applied to, and 
used by, the graduated Clergy (in the Middle Ages especially). 
9ee Stowe's Annals, p. 4(i!) For in fact, every other order of 
men (the Lawyers only excepted) were ignorant and barbarous 
beyond description. The Priests were the chief Legislators, 
Officers, Architects, Schoolmasters, and Historians. 

t Learning was but meanly thought of in the reign of 
Henry 8th, as appears from the following among other 
authorities : 

Mr. I 'ace. one of Henry's Secretaries, was told by one of the 
Nobles about the Court, that " it was enough for Noblemen's 
suns to wind their horn and carry their hawk fair, and to leave 
Study and learning to the children of mean men." See 
Camden's Kerns (last Kdn.) p. 273 



captivating address of an unshewy, but great, 
apostle — " Peter, a servant of Jesus Christ." 

The tombs of Mr. Pickering and Mr. 
Baily, have, evidently, been put up about the 
same period, which I take to be about 1G89, 
or a little after ; for their very appearance, 
and the state of the times, antecedently, 
convince me that they could not have been 
erected according to their dates. 

The sepulchre of the next ejected Minister 
is, for William Hawden. who died, as is there 
stated, 2Cth of August. 1699, in the eighty- 
eighth year of his age. The text which his 
friends have inscribed over him is — ; - The 
righteous hath hope in his death." I can 
gather no particulars of this gentleman 
beyond what Dr. Calamy relates. 

" Mr. William Hawden," says he, " bom 
near Leeds. Upon the Five Mile Act, he 
went to Sherborn, and afterwards removed 
to Wakefield. He preached both at home 
and abroad, as opportunity offered, and as 
long as his sight continued, but for the last 
eight or nine years of his life it failed him. 
He was a sound, orthodox Divine, a great 
enemy to all vice — a zealous promoter of 
what was good — of great magnanimity and 
resolution. In 1685, when the Duke of 
Monmouth was landed, he was sent prisoner 
to Hull, and thence conveyed to York Castle, 
where the Commissioners required he should 
be bound to his good behaviour, which he 
peremptorily refused, knowing no occasion 
for it; but the matter was compromised, 
upon a friend's passing his word for him. 
He was ejected from the Vicarage of Broads- 
worth." This gentleman, I believe, officiated 
as a supply for the Dissenters at Morley. 
He probably was not elected their Minister 
on account of his age, as he would be near 
seventy at Mr. Pickering's decease. 

Upon the tomb of the last of our ejected 
.Ministers, is this inscription : — " Here resteth 
the body of Abraham Dawson, of Morley, 
who departed this life, the 19th of November, 
1671, 'aged 61." -Here also, was interred 
the body of tin* Rev. Mr. Joseph Dawson, 
Minister of the gospel at Morley, and son of 
the above-said, who finished his labours 
and entered on his rest June 26th, aged 
73, 1809." This interesting memorial — so 
closely connected with our history — was. for 
twenty years at least, buried about two feet 
under ground, to make way for the slab of a 
person of no consequence, and of a different 



character. It is unnecessary to say, by 
whom it was replaced and restored. 

Here let me pause for the sake of those 
Dissenters who love consistency, and not only 
know their own sentiments but those of their 
forefathers : in the seventeenth century espe- 
cially. 

On the sepulchres of two of the ejected 
Ministers, though University scholars, and 
episcopally ordained, as well as on one who 
was, at least, their contemporary, it is written 
thus— "Mr. Samuel Baily"— u Robert Picker- 
ing, Preacher of the Gospel" — " Mr. William 
Hawden" — and so forth ; but when we come 
to 1709 — and the Stone of the next gentle- 
man, it is " The Rev.* Mr. Joseph Dawson." 
Now, although I am quite sure Mr. Dawson 
was (like these other Ministers) as much 
worthy of the appellation " Reverend" as 
any person of his times, and much more so 
than a multitude of people in ours ; yet I 
must own its introduction here is not, in my 
judgment, in good " taste." This remark 
naturally draws me to relate a few particulars 
which are not known to every one. 

In the early ages of the Church, to say 
nothing of the highest orders of the Clergy, 
but to confine the remark to the generality, 
we find them little assuming in regard to 
titles. — They generally bore the Christian 
name, as " Augustine" — " James the Deacon" 
— " Laurentius," and so forth. Afterwards, 
when they were designated by local residence, 
the same simplicity continued. It was in 
these times " Robert de Rupibus" — " Henry 
de Vallibus" — "John de Veteriponte" — 
••Thomas de Capella." &c. ; or it was Wil- 
liam de Terringham, Clerk, or William, of 
Wyckham. At length these Priests began 
to be called •• Sir." if not graduated — if 
otherwise. •• Master ;" and the former appel- 
lation 1 find common, from Sir Richd. AVich, 
Vicar of Eermetsworth, in 1440, and burnt 
for heresy on Tower Hill, to Sir Thomas f 
Newman. Priest, who " bore the faggot for 
singing Mass with (/ood ale" in 1537. The 
title of Doctor. was also assumed about the 
same times, and was certainly not unap- 
propriate to the office. But the Clergy, not 
content with titles sufficient for Knights and 
Baronets, and the principal Gentry in the 



n i- m\ belief thai the title 
the reign of his Catholic Bfajeetjr, 
can only prove it by inference. 
before 1668. Set Evelyn'a Men 

t Stowe's Annals, p. 088. 



" Reverend" •prang up » n 

< harlrs the 2nd, though I 
It was certainly aJopte \ 



;i 



land, must needs rise higher yet, and accord- 
ingly we read of other appellations such us 
" Ke\< rend" — " Honourable and Reverend," 
&c. in after times. Titles, however, of all 
kinds, -<eeni wonderfully t<> have increased 
troin i!if rise of the Tndors to the fall of the 
Stuarts; or, to he more particular, from the 
time of his Highness the " Defender of the 
Faith." to the decline of his •• most sacred 
Majesty" — the most religious] and gracious 
King-" — Charles the 2nd. During the taste- 
less period of the Usurpation indeed, and 
unshewy 'period of the Commomvealth, these 
concerns were in low repute, and the dif- 
ference may be well accounted for. when we 
contrast with the others the men of these 
times — men whose ambition was altogether 
of a different kind, and who sought the 
admiration of their country by deeds rather 
than by words. Cromwell, especially, who 
knew mankind, detested clerical pride, and 
despised the fooleries of the Romish Church 
as much as any man that ever lived, appears 
to have applied his stupendous mind to the 
restoring of Christianity to its primitive sim- 
plicity and purity ; and in spite of the cant 
and quaint phraseology which disgraces the 
age rather than the men, we must needs 
admire the unostentatious deportment of his 
Ministers. But, when the u Catholic" Charles 
was restored — when the Peerage was swelled 
in a most unprecedented and ludicrous* 
degree — when, among all sorts of titles and 
nicknames, the word w * Reverend" was intro- 
duced ; the apostates of Liberty and the 
cavaliers appear to have adopted it very 
nearly together. It was no longer Mr. 
Richard Baxter, Mr. Edward Bowles, or Mr. 
Jno. Flavel; but the Rev. Richard Baxter, 
the Rev. Edwd. Bowles, and the Rev. John 
Flavel. And if some of the other i; Trim- 
mers," such as Calamy, Bates, and Owen, 
did not assume it. their title of Doctor alone 
prevented. From this time the appellation 
has been so far extended, that it is now often 
applied to tradesmen, farmers, and mechanics. 
As the love of eminence and shew is a 
passion ever restless and importunate, so 
when it is encouraged, new demands will 
continually arise ; and accordingly, with titles 

: Those epithets wore first bestowed in this reign with 
what propriety, may be discovered by turning only to 
Evelyn's .Memoirs, p. f>4H. &c. I quote Evelyn, as lie was 
loyal even to the Stuarts. See also, "Ellis's Letters, vol. 8. 
p. 3'24. 

1 So ludicrous indeed was it, that a Lady remarked "one 

could scarcely spit out of a window without spitting on a 

Lord" on observation which maj i>c extended to the 
lUverends of the present da; 



has grown up a fondness for clerical dress — 
finery and pomp.f Fine gowns,} organs, 
and pews, all proclaim our degeneracy and 
gradual approach to that pageantry which 
was derived from Pagan Rome, in the early 
ages of the Church. It will be well, I some- 
times think, if matters go no further: but 
when one beholds among one class of Dis- 
senters a Liturgy — with another, Confessions 
of Faith — and over a third a conclave of 
Priests as absolute and arbitrary as is seen at 
Rome, there is certainly some cause of appre- 
hension. § 

To return to our Burial-ground, the stone 
next to that of Mr. Pickering is over one 
John Ilalliday. who died in 1677; the next 
is for Mr. Baily ''Minister of Morley and 
Topcliffe," who died December 8th, 1675; 
and the next that of Alice his wife, who on 
the 22nd of June, 1674, left him a widower. 
A little further North is a stone for Nehe- 
miah Wood, of Gildersome, who married 
Hannah, one of the daughters of Major 
Greatheed, and died the 26th of October, 
1707, his wife following him February 29th, 
1752, aged eighty-three years. 

Passing near the Mausoleum of my family, 
I find that Henry Greatheed, of Gildersome, 
a son of the Major, died the 5th of July, 
1718, aged 80 ; that Martha his wife, died 
the 15th of August, 1722 ; that Elizabeth 
the wife of Matthew Scatcherd, of Morley, 
died August the 25th, 1715, aged 84 ; that 
Jane the wife of Thomas Scatcherd their son, 
died September 4th, 1691, and that Thomas 
died May 20th. 1700. 

Near this spot are the graves of the 

t I take leave to record it here, that under the Presby- 
terian Ministry the gown and bands never appeared once at 
the Old Chapel. When Dr. Priestly preached here, he ap- 
peared in the most unostentatious garb, and from eye- 
witnesses I know that his demeanour was plain, artless, lowly, 
and apostolic. 

t The gown as well as surplice was particularly declaimed 
against by the Independents of the seventeenth century. See 
appendix to the Life of Archbishop Sancroft. 

Jj [t is a curious question what will be the general religion 
in England, a century or two hence. Some considerations 
indicate that the two largest bodies of Dissenters will at 
length merge in the Establishment. One of them (the 
nearest related to Alma Mater) seems already repentant ; and 
the tenets of the other so nearly correspond with the Athana- 
sian Creed and the Articles, and their departure from the 
usages and principlos of their forefathers is so manifest, that 
their return is far from improbable. As to the Moravians, 
they seem to be between Catholic and Protestant, and as 
little on the increase as the Quakers, who are as little likely 
to nourish here, as .lews or Mahomedans. On the other 
hand, there Is a tenet directly opposed to all people, and 
which, like the little cloud, appears to be spreading on all 
sides. We now have " Unitarian" Churchmen— Methodists 

Baptists Quakers, &0., besides the denomination so called. 
In the New World too, as well as in the Old, this sentiment 
is prevailing: the result, I hope, will be glorious, and for 
mankind, happy. 



75 



Reyner family, but the stones being of recent 
date, I pass them by — one of John Scurr, of 
Holbeck, who died May the 10th, 1684. is 
worth notice. He was related to that Leonard 
Scurr mentioned by Calamy, and of whose 
murder and robbery in 1680, Jby Ilolroyd, 
Littlewood, and others, a particular account 
may be found in Whitaker's Leeds. In 
what degree they were related, the present 
head of the Scurr family, now residing at 
Liverpool, could not inform me ; but only 
that the tradition is, respecting our John, 
that he was killed by a fall from his horse. 

In this Burial-ground I find a stone for 
Susannah, wife of John Bainbridge. of 
k - Rownes" (Roomes) who died the 8th of 
February, 1687, and which 1 mention just 
to shew that there were families thereabouts 
1 40 years ago. It is manifest indeed from 
the ancient barns and cottages which we see 
skirting the borders of Farnley Wood, or at 
no great distance therefrom, that from Gil- 
dersome, Roomes, Snittles, Cottingley, and 
Beeston, there were dwellings long anterior 
to the Conspiracy. 

AVe next come to the tombs of the Daw- 
sons. On one side the Minister lies John 
Dawson, Esq., the father of Lady Lough- 
borough, who died December loth. 1769, 
aged 56. On the other side, lies his father, 
who died September 2nd, 1741. aged 65; 
and his Bister, Mis. Lydia Dawson, who died 
September 2nd. 1761. aged .")7. On the 
South side of this stone, and inclosed with 
palisadoes like his daughter's tomb, lie the 
remains of Mis. Elizabeth Dawson, wife of 
the first-mentioned John Dawson, who died 
November 5th, 1788, aged 77 ; and just by 
it. i-; a stone for Esther Crowther, wife of 
Joshua Crowther, and mother-in-law of 
Thomas Dawson. Who this Thomas was 1 
am unable to make out, but he seems to have 
been a Trustee of the Chapel. On the side 
of Elizabeth's tomb, is a marble slab for 
••Ann. relict of John Dawson, gentleman, 
who died July 2nd. 1767, aged 8 ( J. — Lastly, 
there is a -tone for " the Rev. Joseph Daw- 
sou, of Rochdale, in Lancashire, who seems 
to have lived at Morley, before his removal 
thither, and to have had two sons — namely. 
Samuel — who. died here, " July 23rd, 1696, 
aged 20 years and 1) months; " and Thomas, 
horn December 13th, 1702. and deceased 
November 3rd, 1706. 

This account of the Dawsons is involved in 
an obscurity which I cannot dispel. It is 



certain that Abraham was the father of 
Joseph, our Minister, and my belief is that 
Joseph, the Minister at Rochdale, was oae of 
the sons of our Joseph ; who. according to 
Dr. Calamy, " brought up four sons to the 
Ministry." Indeed I have been credibly 
informed that this is the fact. John Dawson, 
the grandfather of Lady Loughborough, was. 
more probably, a son of Thomas Dawson, 
than of our old Minister; but someway or 
other they were all related, and if 1 may be 
allowed t<> guess at their common ancestor, 
judging of them from their principles, I 
should say they were all descended from * 
'• Abraham, the father of the faithful." 

Near these tombs lie the remains of that 
once learned and truly excellent man, Timothy 
Aired, of whom it is recorded that he was 
Pastor of the congregation at Morley, fifty - 
four years, and died August the 21st. 1772, 
aged 88. In his latter days he resided with 
his son George, at an ancient farm-house, 
near Churwell, at present occupied by Mr. 
Morris. 

At some distance N.B. of the last stone is a 
handsome one, curiously carved, u in memory 
of Mr. Thomas Craister, who died May 1:5th. 
1681, and of his son Thomas, the Trustee in 
1687. who died March 6th, 1702. aged 48. 
There is a stone also for the Rev. Nathaniel 
Booth, of Gildersome. who died April 3rd. 
1755. aged 75. Of this Mr. Booth, an 
Anabaptist Minister. 1 shall have occasion to 
-peak hereafter. His grandson, the late 

Nathaniel Booth, grocer, &c., in Grildersome, 
it was believed, was the proper heir to the 
title "Delamere," and peradventure, might 
have preferred his claims, had aol the ordinary 

accompanynient been wanting, and his own 
education not less so. 

The next stone informs us that •• William 
Robuck, of Morley (the Trustee in 1687), 
died September 17th, 1720, aged 6;; ; and 
that Rachael, his wife, who died June 12th, 
1725. aged 67: and Sarah, wife of John 
Dawson, of Topdiffe, who died February 8th, 
176o, aged 7!>." were there interred. 

Ne;ir the ashes Of the Robuck family arc 

Hat slabs, for one Thomas Met calf, of Morley , 

who died in 1717; — another is for Mercy, 

wife of John bfargerisson, of Drighlington, 

who died April L2th, 1701. aged 63. Of this 
family 1 shall write ;i subsequent page. 

i mean A-bratuun, tin; Parliamentarian, who lent John 
rd a horse, in 1988, and was father to Joseph, our 
Minister. 



76 



The lnsi tomb which 1 shall notice, but not 
the least sacred in my esteem, is that of the 
truly Reverend Thomas Morgan, of whom it 
is recorded thai he died July 2nd, 17'.»'.>. aged 
80 years, "after having faithfully discharged 
the office of Pastor here, from October 23rd, 
17C0. to September 28th, 1794, when it 
pleased God to suffer his powers of speech 
and active usefulness, to be destroyed by a 
paralytic stroke." 

Having' now got through the only un- 
pleasant part of my task — the irksome 
drudgery of commemorating the principal 
interments in the Burial-ground, and having, 
with studied care, abridged the inscriptions on 
the oldest and most memorable stones, the 
reader will, perhaps, have the good nature to 
indulge me in making a few remarks. 

It was once my wish to redeem, according 
to my ability, and the extent of my influence, 
a national disgrace, by making this Chapel- 
yard fit for the eye of a stranger, and not 
unpleasant to our villagers — and, for this 
purpose, I have expended money in planting 
trees, and fixing palisadoes at the Northern 
and Western skirts. The small extent of our 
Burial-ground forbids the thought of further 
improvement, and a still greater obstacle is, 
the circumstance of Morley being a manufac- 
turing village. Were it otherwise, something 
beyond a mere approach to decency might be 
attempted. 

It is impossible to hear or read of the 
Burial-grounds in France, especially that of 
Pere la Chaise, near Paris, without feeling 
that we are, as a nation, some centuries 
behindhand with our neighbours, in exhibiting 
a tasteful and proper respect for the memory 
of departed friends. There the weeping willow 
or the laurel, the laburnum or the bay, com- 
mixed with vernal and perennial flowers, not 
only decorate the graves f of the deceased, 
and denote, partially, their quality, sex, and 
character, but are beautifully emblematic of a 
"perpetual spring," and an unfading immor- 
tality. Compared with spots like these how 
cold, and desolate, and horrid, is the aspect 
of our Church-yards in England! presenting 
little to the view beyond the lumber and dis- 
order of a stone quarry. Without verdure to 
relieve the eye — without beauty to captivate 
the fancy — and, often, without a sentiment to 
affect the heart. 



t In Glamorganshire to this day the Knives are annually 
dressed by surviving relatives with llowers. Gentleman's 
Magazine, vol, 07, part 2, p. 21)2. 



Judge, then, reader, of the regret with 
which I view a place, consecrated by many 
recollections, yet for which no regard, even 
as it respecis decency. i< preserved. Often 
have 1 suggested the propriety of stopping 
up of footpaths — of preventing the demolition 
of graves by cows and horses, and of the 
walls and tombs by animals more brutish still 
than these. — Often have I not only remon- 
strated, but have caused to be removed, the 
nuisances whereby the walls and tombs are 
blackened and defiled, but all in vain ! Every 
thought of the departed being absorbed in a 
regard for trade— in a mercenary calculation 
of " profit and loss." I have in this, as in 
more useful endeavours, been unsupported. 
Henceforth, therefore, I shall remain passive 
— for a w r hat can an individual do against a 
camp ?" 

On the South side of Morley Chapel, and 
nearly in the centre of the Burial-ground, is 
the base of a column, with part of the shaft 
in its socket, of what our oldest people have, 
from my boyish days, assured me was for- 
merly a sun-dial. In spite, however, of this 
their united assurance, as none of them pre- 
tended to have seen this dial, or anything 
more than a part of the shaft, I am compelled 
to believe that an ancient Church-yard Cross 
once appeared upon this base. My reasons 
are as follows : — 

It seems very doubtful whether any person 
in Mr. Al red's time (and he came here in 
1709) ever saw this Dial. So that the 
account of there having been one is quite 
traditionary. Supposing, however, that there 
ivas a Dial belonging to the Chapel, this must 
have been erected nearly a century and a 
half ago. 

Now a real antiquary only allows tradi- 
tionary rumour to incline his belief where 
better evidence is wanting'. — Where the sub- 
ject engages his fancy, he will " pink " at it 
and pry into it with the curiosity, ardour, and 
perseverance which characterized the vener- 
able Hutton, of Birmingham. 

Dials are said to have been constructed iu 
558, and the first* to have been erected in 
Rome three hundred and eight years before 
Christ. Unless a captious and foolish objec- 
tion be admitted in respect of huge pillars, 
which were an horologium of the ancients, 

* Luckombe's Tablet of Memorv, p. 140. Mr. Barrington 
mentions A. U. 471. And Mr. Gough tells us " Scipio Nasics 
contrived and placed the first Hour Glass, A. IT. 595, whereby 
the hours both of day and night were equally divided."— 
Arcluuologia, vol. 5, p. 417. See also p. 425. 



77 



vertical dials, and these only, appear to have 
been in use down to, comparatively, modern 
times — such, at least according- to the extent 
of my reading* and observation, appears the 
fact ; for, from the curious Saxon Dial at 
Kirkdale. in Rydale, down to those ordinary 
vertical Dials on our neighbouring' Churches, 
1 have not met with one instance of a very 
ancient horizontal one in our Church-yards. 
Nay. in all that voluminous and valuable 
work — the Gentleman's Magazine — I can find 
nothing but vertical dials upon our Churches. f 
1 am not therefore, to be told that if a Dial 
were put up here in the seventeenth century 
it would be an horizontal one, when all our 
Church-yards declare the contrary. 

Such is the evidence ag*ainst the tradi- 
tionary account of a Dial. Now then for the 
evidence in favour of a Cross — preparatory to 
which, however, I beg to be indulged with a 
few preliminaries. 

After the introduction of Christianity in our 
Island, although Churches were not immedi- 
ately erected on the site of memorable events, 
Crosses were, as Dr. Whitaker observes, 4i of 
this," says he, "we have a memorable 
instance in the case of King Oswald, and 
where there were Crosses, we have authority 
for saying, the Clergy and people assembled 
for purposes of devotion, and even celebration 
of the Holy Communion." 

There seems to be no doubt that the 
Christian Clergy preached at these 1 Crosses 
before Churches were erected, and aftei*wards, 
upon the consecration of a Church, ii seems 
to have been a custom to erect a Cross in the 
centre of the Church-yard, or to plant a Yew 
Tree, or, })erhaps. to do both. Indeed, it was 
by seeing an ancient Yew Tree in the Burial- 
ground of Old White Chapel, that Archbishop 
Sharp knew it to be consecrated ground, and 
refused, of course, to consecrate it afresh.} 

These Crosses in Church-yards, in after- 
limes were so multiplied, that we often find 
them, or traces of them, in various parts of 
the Burial-grounds. § — Yes! even on the 
North and North East sides of our Churches || 
— (a curious fact, and one which I mn-l beg- 
tlic leader to bear in memory) — generally, 

\ Nichols's Leicestershire Saltby ami Co'lchy Churches. 

ArehKologia, vol. l, page lio. 

J Whitakcr's Leeds, vol. 'J, p. 240. 
| Craven, p. '204. Stowe's Annals, p. 83, &c. 
Lyaon'l Cornwall, in M. J'». vol. .">, p. 221, fltO. AloIUSoL 
vol. 14, p. 62. Ocntlenian's Magazine, 179;), p. 837. The 
reader will see how this fact snpports an opinion of my own 
in a following page, and disproves an hypothesis in the 
Archwologia, 



however, we find them at the West or South 
sides. 

These later Crosses, no doubt, from their 
very position, were "principally designed to 
inspire reverence" — "to put the mind into a 
proper frame, preparatory to entering the 
sacred Edifice." According to all that 1 can 
learn on this amusing subject they were 
larger, higher, and more highly finished than 
the more ancient central Cross ; indeed, it is 
natural to believe that they would be so, 
when we consider the different times and 
different motives which gave them birth. 

Although every class of Crosses is of high 
antiquity, I am inclined to think, that among 
those which pertain to our ecclesiastical 
structures, the Cross in the centre of the 
Church-yard is most ancient. They seem to 
have been far more rude, plain, and low, than 
those beautiful Crosses which sprang- up in 
times when architecture had attained its 
meridian, and sculpture was advanced. We 
have seldom given us the height of these 
Crosses, but from what I have gathered, they 
seem to have varied from eight to ten • or 
twelve feet above the surface. Unquestion- 
ably we should have known much more about 
them but for those infamous orders which 
issued soon after the " Reformation," com- 
manding that all images of the Trinity, in 
glass windows and other places of the 
Church, should be put out and extinguished, 
together with, the "'Stone Crosse in the Charche- 
yarde" — enough, however, remains to satisfy 
me thai at Morley there was once a Cross, 
though, probably, of the plainest kind. ' 

The base of this structure is nearly four 
feet square — the shaft has been about nine 
inches in diameter, and the stone remaining 
is of a kind widely different from any in the 
neighbourhood, or, as 1 imagine, any place 
nearer than Bramley. It is a kind of sand- 
stone grit, similar to that of the coffin lately 
found at MiddletOD (of which hereafter); 
this is another circumstance which argues 
against the supposition of a Dial, and in 
favour of a Cross. 

These, and other beautiful Church-yard 
dosses, of which, alas! there are but few 

remaining, were principally demolished, as all 

• see i.yson's M. 1!. vol. ;», p. 221. Borlaoe'a Cornwall, pi. 
... ac. LrcIuBoL v. ii. p. 199. Gentleman'a tlafaiUM for 
1806, p. 120L l"> 1816, p. 891 l><>. 1816, p. .>77. 

soniftinus wr Bud the central Croaaai i anoint nwlwL 
sec Gentleman'i Magaslne, IT'JO. p. 682. i>u. 1816, p. 'J. Do. 
for 1615. p. 129. 



78 



antiquaries know, during the Tudor* reigns. 
\<>t many were destroyed, as I believe, 
daring the Civil War. and by those who were 
the most opposed to Papal superstitions ; I 
mean by the Republican party, whose modera- 
tion and forbearance in this, as in other 
respects, deserves more commendation than 
it has met with. 

Yet, not only under the Stuarts and the 
Tudors. have all kinds of Crosses disappeared, 
but even recent times afford instances of what 
ignorance and brutality, as well as fanaticism, 
can accomplish in this respect. " The tall 
and shapely Cross," says Dr. Whitaker, 
" which stood in the Church-yard, at Burnley, 
with a crucifix in relief upon it. was destroyed 
by a drunken rabble, hired for the purpose a 
few years ago."f What further havoc has 
been made, many antiquarian works testify ; 
indeed no longer since than last autumn, on 
a short excursion to the Lakes, I myself 
observed a new shaft and Dial erected on the 
base of one ancient Cross, and a lamp-iron 
upon another 4 

As innumerable instances might be adduced 
to shew that Crosses as well as Fonts and 
other ecclesiastical appurtenances have been 
put to uses very different to their original 
one; so, it is possible that when horizontal 
Dials became common, the Head of the Cross 
might give way to the Gnomon and Dial 
plate ;§ but if so, the substitution must have 
been made for the purpose of regulating our 
Chapel clock. But here again I find a cir- 
cumstance of some, though not great Aveight 
in the argument against a Dial ; for the clock 
is undoubtedly very old — a century and a 
half at least — on which account there was the 
less necessity for any other chronometer, 
especially in a village so near to Leeds; 
besides, I again question whether the hori- 
zontal Dial would be then constructed. 

There is one thing observable in our Chapel- 
yard, in common with most other places of 
sepulture which has engaged my attention, 
and excited my curiosity, from my very child- 
hood ; but neither from any book, or from any 
person) have 1 been able to acquire such 

' Sec Wharton's Life of Pope, 353, or Gentleman's Maga- 
zine, for 17!»!», p. 887, note. Nicholls's Leicestershire, vol. J. 
part 2, p. 674, fee. Sec, especially, Nicholls's Leicestershire, 
vol. 1, p. 574. 

t Whitakcr's Whallev, v. 2, p. 302. Gentleman's Magazine, 
171)9. p. 833. Stowe, L187. 

t At IJowness, Ambleside, and Orassmcre. Anno. 1828. 

S An instance of a vertical Dial upon an ancient Cross, and 
which was put thereon so recently as 1712, may be found in 
the Geutleinau's Magazine for 170^, page 124. 



information as would give me satisfaction 
respecting it; — I mean the non-interment, or 
unfrequent interment, on the North sides of 
our sacred structures. 

The only suggestion upon this subject, 
which has ever reached me, and is worth 
notice. || may be found in the fourteenth 
volume of the Archseologia, page 52 ; but, in 
my opinion, it only accounts in part for a 
superstition, or a prejudice, which seems 
wrapt in impenetrable mystery; — however, I 
will give his solution in the very words of the 
writer : — 

u The potrions of Church-yards," says this 
Gentleman, " lying towards the South, East, 
and West, are by the inhabitants of these 
neighbourhoods, and by those, I believe, of 
other places, held in superior veneration, 
being still emphatically and exclusively called 
4 the sanctuary.'^ Opinions are, perhaps, 
never generally established without some 
basis. — Whencesoever this prejudice arose it 
is now become traditionary among the lower 
ranks of people, and it is indeed so strong, 
that if, in my contiguous parish of Winterton, 
I were, on any occasion, to urge a parishioner 
to inter a deceased relative on the North side 
of the Church, he would answer me with 
some expression of surpsise, if not of offence 
— ' No, Sir, it is not in the sanctuary.'' Hence 
happens it that there are scarcely any graves 
visible in that portion of most of our Church- 
yards, except in towns, or in some very 
populous villages, where necessity may have 
overcome choice, or the sanctuary, for obvious 
reasons, has been extended quite round the 
Church ;** or where, from peculiarity of situ- 
ation, the principal approach and entrance 
into it have alw T ays been on that side." 

Now, before I endeavour to elucidate the 
subject, I have a few remarks to make upon 
this statement, and in the face of it, and 
although I am well aware that it is expressly 
declared " Ecclesiarum Sanctuaria qua? popu- 
lariter Csemeteria Nominautur ;" yet, I am 
clearly of opinion, the North sides of these 
Church-yards were sanctuary ground, whether 
they were buried in or not. 

When our Burial-grounds were formed in 



|| Except one which appears in the Oentleman's Magazine, 
vol. 81, part 2, page 213. 

•| In vol. 9th, 14th, or 17th of the Archseologia, or else in 
Stowe, an authority is given for the assertion that Ina, King 
of Wessex, about OiX), enacted that Churches be made Assyla 
in this our Island . but the privilege of sanctuary was granted 
by Scbert, King of the East Saxons. Archajologia, vol. 1, 
p. 43. 

' ' Here is seen an evident struggle to get over a difficulty. 



early times, their boundaries were fixed — the 
rite of consecration took place. A Cross, or 
a Yew Tree, as before-mentioned, was planted 
in» the centre, and then, or in after times, a 
Church was built upon the spot.ff But the 
whole of the ground was consecrated, and, 
oeing so, it was sanctuary. Nor could it make 
any difference if the consecration took place 
after the building- of the Church — the whole 
of the inclosure, Church and all, would be 
considered, as it is now-a-days, consecrated, 
and, being conseci ated, it became as a neces- 
sary consequence, sanctuary, the right to 
which, as Dr. Pegge states, was confined to 
;k such Churches as were consecrated." 

But to shew, more clearly, that the idea is 
erroneous of the ground on the North sides of 
Churches being not sanctuary — or in other 
words, unconsecrated ground, I shall adduce 
the following proofs : — First, " The house, 
and even the court-yard of the Priest were 
places of sanctuary,:): J provided, that they stood 
upon the demesnes of the Church." And, 
secondly, it is laid down, that " within the 
walls of the Church -yard the fugitive was 
protected, because it was consecrated ground." 
Now, will it be believed, that the North side 
of the Church-yard was not sanctuary, when 
even the house and court-yard of the Priest, 
being part demesnes, were sanctuary ? 

Another clear and convincing circumstance 
is this — a Cross, or the remains of one, is not 
unfrequently found on the North sides of our 
Churches — (as I mentioned in a preceding 
page) — they were sometimes called " pardon 
Crosses," and an ancient MS. informs us 
with reference to this class — " Qiver soever a 
Cross standith. titer is forgiveness of payne."* 
If then, the sanctuary-man, flying from the 
grasp of justice, had reached a monument so 
situated, the reader will, perhaps, believe with 
me, that a Priest upon the spot might, with 
perfect consistency, have addressed the pur- 
suer in some such language as this — " Take 
thy shoe from off thy foot, for behold ! the 
placi on which thou standest, is holy ground" 

Having now. as briefly as possible, shewn 
that the popular notion upon this subject is 
founded in error, in some counties ; 1 proceed 
to remark, that it does not account for the 
prejudices, or rather the dislike, still remain- 
ing amongst Dissenters. 

tt See Stowe's AnnaLs. p. 74, 84, 166, 189. I allude to the 
times, of course, when they were annexed to our Churches. 

Xt These were the laws of Kdward, the Confessor. See 
Rapin, p. 307. Archied. toI. 2, p. 282: Stowe, p. 704, 799. 
' See Archadogia, rol. 13. p. 816 ; vol »',, p. 144. 



Whatever foolish and superstitious notions 
the first Separatists from Rome — (the self- 
styled Reformers) — might retain as to conse- 
crated ground, or other things, the early 
Puritans, and, more especially, their successors 
utterly discarded them. So little had they f 
to do indeed with sanctuary, and so little 
cared they about sanctuary ground, that, had 
there been no other reason for their not bury- 
ing on the North side of our Chapel, than the 
one before-mentioned, I am persuaded we 
should have found the greatest number of 
graves on this very side. 

Let us try then, whether a more consistent 
hypothesis than the one adverted to. may not 
be substituted. One. which shall account for 
the common feeling and usage amongst 
Catholics, Protestants, and Protestant Dis- 
senters. This, however, will require a short 
history, as amusing, I trust, as it is curious, 
and which will shew every one, but the true 
antiquary, what absurd notions are generally 
prevailing, as to the manners, habits, and 
feelings of our ancestors, in remote ages. 

At the first erection of Churches, no places, 
either in or about them, were allotted for 
the interment of the dead, but were 
appointed for that purpose, apart.J In 
the seventh century, it began to be a custom 
to bury in Churches. In cities, however, we 
are told by Stowe,§ " the Englishmen buried 
not until the time of Cuthbert, Archbishop of 
Canterbury, who procured of the Pope, that 
in them, should be appointed Church-yards ; 
for lEonorious, when he divided his province 
into parishes, appointed not to them, Church- 
yards for burial." Hut, for many years after 
this time, burial was only allowed in the 
atrium and porticos, or enhance into Churches 
— from them, it came into the body of the 
Church — next into the chancel, and lastly, 
under the altar. When it took place in the 
Church-yard, it was, 1 apprehend, chiefly on 
the South and East sides, and not at all on 
the North, for reasons which will be seen 

presently. Now. so far were people, generally, 

from entertaining those line sentiments and 
feelings about Consecrated-ground — " Sanc- 
tuary-ground." or Burial-ground, which is 
commonly inculcated and believed, that as far 
as I can Bee, they profaned and polluted it in 



t By st. l, lac. 

was abolished 



( 25, B. :'.4. the ancient usage- of sanctuary 



J Archu'ol. vol. 14, p. 51 ; voL 13, p. 299. 
| Stowe's Annals, p. <JS, (black letter.) 



80 



every kind of way.* and this too, was done 
by all classes. 

A< to the Church, the choir only, was at 
first Bet apart for divine service, and for ages, 
was considered the only pari of the structure 
particularly sacred — the nave or body, as Mr. 
Foebroke tells us, was the *• Exchangef of 
the palish." Here people assembled to per- 
form their fooleries, or to practise their 
rogueries, very frequently. Even, in the 
Metropolitan Church, in Richard the 2nd's 
days, " filth was suffered to accumulate about 
the doors and in the cemeteries — the beautiful 
windows and images were injured by stones 
and arrows, aimed at the daws and pigeons 
that made their nests or roosted about the 
building, and they played at fives, both within 
and without the Church** From Ellis's 
Letters, also, it appears that in this pait of 
the Church, people bought, and sold, and 
trafficked, and played at ball. 

Such enormities as these, and worse, un- 
doubtedly, were committed, in the Church of 
St. Paul's at least as early as 1371 ; for in 
that year we find Edward the 3rd complaining 
to the Bishop of the many abuses practised in 
his Cathedral, " ivith his connivance." " He 
tells him that the refectory of the canons 
was become the eating-place and office of 
mechanics, and the lurking-place and re- 
ceptacle of whoremongers ; and he alludes to 
other indecencies which royal delicacy," as 
he says, u forbade him to particularize." 

To how late a period such improprieties 
extended, may be imagined from what Mr. 
Carter tells us of an ancient picture, who 
remarks that, when it was drawn, the interior 
of the Church must have been u the common 
resort for idlers ff — a convenient place for 
assignations, and a kind of mart wherein 
commercial transactions were carried on." I 
conclude with briefly remarking further upon 
the Churches, that we arc 1 assured their 
porches were often " Books-shops after the 
Reformation." 

Now then, as to Church-yards, so early as 

|| " Adhuc prohibemus ne Choreas vel turpes et inhonesti 
l.mii qui in iMciviam Invitent flant Cssmeterils," &c. See 
notes, to Arch.'i'oi. vol. L2, p. 20. 

• ■• e Gentleman's Magazine, 1817, p. i">. 

■' For these offences, Braybook, Bishop of London, 
threatens the offenders with pain of the greater excommuni- 
cation, bar hell riiiKin;,' candle lighting, and elevution of the 
Cross, See Ellis's Letters. Till very lately, lives were played 
in the liurial ground of East Harptree, Somersetshire. See 
also, Larson's M. B. vol :., p. 86, and note. 

tt See Dugdale's History of st. Paul's Cathedral, p. about 

100, where lie gives an extract from a rare Tract, entitled, 
" Westminster's Speech to London, 4 to. 1697." Stiype's 
Annals Of thS Reformation, vol 1 p 861. 



Edward the lst's reign, in consequence of the 
robberies, homicides, and fornications there 
committed, St. Paul's Church-yard was 
" walled round with fitting gates and poe- 
tnrns;" and, as to other Church-yards, I 
find them used for the commonest and vilest 
purposes before, and long after the Reforma- 
tion. — Here people met on more occasions 
than can now be mentioned. — Here fairs were 
held* on the day of the dedication of the 
Church. — Here people feasted, and sported, 
and revelled after service. In these "Burial- 
grounds" stages were erected, " Miracle 
Plays" were acted, the ornaments of the 
Church were borrowed to decorate the theatre 
— the women thronged from all quarters, and 
the day was concluded by wrestling, tilting, 
and dances. — Here, lastly, malefactors were 
punished, f and not unfrequently executed; J 
and here too, lotteries were drawn, and that 
not on the North only, but on the South side 
of the Church. 

Having picked up with some industry, and 
not, as the antiquary will believe, without 
much reading, these and such other "curiosi- 
ties " (as the present volume will discover,) 
I feel myself competent, with such data, to 
give an opinion upon a difficult question like 
the one proposed, but shall be very grateful 
to be set right if I am in error. 

My conjecture then is, that our rude 
ancestors, in the Plantagenet and Tudor 
reigns, did not abstain from interring the 
dead on the North sides of our Churches 
from any thoughts about consecrated ground, 
but because this ground was wanted, and 
was used, for very different purposes — for 
fairs§ or wakes, till they were removed hence 
by virtue of the Statute of Winchester, 13th 
Edward 1st ; and for sports, plays, feasting 
and other things, probably to the end of the 
sixteenth century. Such being the case, when 
these were discontinued in the rigid days of 
the Puritans — population being comparatively 
small — Burial-grounds being comparatively 
extensive, and land of little value — families 



" Fosbroke, vol. 1, p. 389. Archseol. vol. 13, p. 238. 
t Stowe, 1)71, 1130, 1271, 1049. Lyson's Bedfordshire, p. 76. 

t Stowe, 1203. Lyson's, vol. 1, p. 248. 
§ On very respectable authority I can state that down to the 
present times, a large fair has been held on the North side of 
St. James' church, Bristol, and actually in the Church-yard. 
See also, Bibl. Topog. 9, p. 1380. 

Since this part of my book was written, I have met with 
the following extract, said to be found in Coates's Heading, 
p. 214 :— 

" Ueceypt Item Rec. at the fayer for a stondyng in the 
Church I'orch, iiijd."— -Gentleman's Magazine, vol. 97, part 2. 
p 298 



si 



too, having all their kindred interred on the 
other sides of the Church, and no room being 
wanted for, perhaps, a century ; what wonder 
if erroneous and superstitious notions grew 
up ? What wonder if a people — visionary, 
fanciful, and credulous, and unable to account 
for existing appearances, should, on that very- 
account, be averse to burial on the North 
side ? 

I shall conclude the subject with a few 
corroborating facts, leaving it to the reader 
to multiply them by such as may occur to his 
recollection. 

The inhabitants of Walton, near Wakefield, 
commonly inter their dead at the neighbour- 
ing Church of Sandal. The road which, for 
this purpose, has been travelled from time 
immemorial, and which is most direct to that 
Church, lies over a field of Sir William 
Pilkington's, at present farmed by a Mr. 
Scholefield ; but the best road is the highway, 
round a corner of this field, and but a few 
yards about. Will it be believed these good 
people will not (perhaps cannot) be induced 
to cany the dead along- this road, but insist 
on going through grass, or peradventure, a 
corn crop, merely because the way through 
the field is the " corpse gate " — the safer road, 
peradventure, to heaven ! ! ! I mention this 
as a curious relic of ancient superstitions, 
which has survived the eighteenth century. 

Fifty years ago there was not one grave 
on the North side of Lightcliffe Chapel, near 
Halifax, and the first person buried there was 
a woman who destroyed herself. The same 
thing may be said, with truth, as to Morley 
and many other places|| — the ground was 
never opened but for such persons ; in fact, 
on the West side there were but few inter- 
ments here, until of late years. 

The fields on the North East side of our 
Burial-ground are called the " Chapel flats," 
like those of St. Lawrence, in the Manor of 
Twiston, mentioned by Dr. Whitaker.lf Some 
coins of Charles the 1st (in my possession) 
have been found in their banks; and I have 
little doubl that here, and on the North Bide 
of the Chapel, the vdllage wake, sports, and 
pastimes were enjoyed down to the times of 
the Commonwealth, or of James the 1st. 

Before I conclude my account of the Old 
Chapel, I am desirous, for the honour of my 
subject, just to mention, that in 1815, or 

|| See Nichols's Leicestershire, vol. 3, part 2, | "... D I. 
•I History of Whall«y. vol. 2, p. 295. 



thereabouts, we were favoured by a visit 
from the late Mr. Hey, of Leeds — the most 
celebrated surgeon and anatomist, in this part 
of the kingdom at least; who, in that true 
spirit of Christian charity which marked his 
course, especially in the decline of life, pre- 
sided at a Bible Society Meeting, at the 
Chapel, and addressed a crowded auditory. 
The sight of a venerable gentleman, of his 
professional eminence, and in whom there 
was such a rare and splendid union of all 
those virtues and attainments which ennoble 
the man — are a blessing to society, and reflect 
lustre upon the country** — advocating the 
cause of religion, and expatiating on the duty 
of brotherly love (which was his theme) has 
left an indelible impression upon my mind. — 
His voice, indeed, was feeble, and there was 
little of animation in his delivery ; but the 
defects were amply compensated by the 
warmth, the solidity, and elegance of his 
remarks — by the modesty, the mildness, and 
unaffected form of his address. The loss of 
such a man to society cannot fail to be 
regarded by every reflecting mind as a real 
calamity, in more respects than one. 

Morley contains within its township two 
thousand three hundred acres of freehold land. 
of which about one thousand six hundred 
belong to the Earl of Dartmouth, the Lord of 
the Manor. It is happy for the population, 
generally, that they do so belong. I shall 
only add that for his munificence to our poor, 
in 1819 especially, it behoves us all to be 
peculiarly grateful. 

For the sake of my readers of the more 
inquisitive, if not intelligent class, I think 
proper, in this place, to enter into a disserta- 
tion of a rather extraordinary kind. Should 
any one be disposed to censure it. as fanciful, 
let him remember that what pleases our own 
fancies we naturally imagine may please 
others. 

The reader will recollct the extract from 
Domesday, in a former page. H In Morley, 
Dunstan heli sis carrucates of land, subject to 
teases ; and other six carrucates may be there, 
which llbert has, but they are waste. '/'Jure 
is a Church a Native Wood, one mile 

long and one broad— in the time of Edward the 

his is do unmeaning compliment todep*rted exoi U 
The Gentlemen i n done thtmaelvu honour In 

ig a monument to Mr iky How iv* monument! are 
half so veil deeen 
In the i.i e of Dr Priestley, written ly himself, then 

1 for a moiiUini.u( U) Mr. Iky when 

the other has periched, 



82 



•. valued at forty shillings." Now, 

iple may be a little curious to discover 

t he site of this wood, and may thank me for 

giving them some insight as to this particular. 

A.8 to being able accurately to define the 
boundaries of this wood, after a lapse Of seven 
centuries, it would be preposterous to think 
of such a thing; but if I do not deceive 
myself, we have some data for determining its 
extent on the South and East sides. 

To Bet Forth this matter as I should wish, 
1 must once more present an extract of 
importance. When quoted heretofore, it was 
only presented in part. 

" In the Coucher book of Nostel," says 
Dr. Whitaker, fo. 344, "is a perambulation 
of this Parish (/'. e. Batiey). The Village of 
Courlewell, says this Book, is situated within 
the limits of the Church of Batele}'. Secondly, 
the boundary of the Parishes of Leeds and 
Batiey is described to be a certain River, 
descending between the Wood of Farnley and 
the Wood of Gilders, as far as the Hospital 
of Beston. Item, another River on the South, 
descending between the Wood of Middleton 
and the Essart of ' A/ or ley, as far as the afore- 
said Hospital of Beston, is also the Boundary 
of the aforesaid Parishes." 

Here then, we have express mention made 
of three distinct and separate woods being in 
this vicinity four centuries ago, besides an 
Essart; and here, by the mention made of 
the hospital of Beeston. we are enabled to 
discover that the river on the South, is not, 
in fact, the one above Morley, of which 
EEoilingshed writes, and which is really on 
the South, but "that which Cometh from 
k Domingley'" (Dunningley). Now it is 
very material to be correct in this, as will 
presently appeal'. 

An *• Assart*' is a piece of wood land 
broken up and cultivated. "The word 



says Jacob in his Law Die- 
by Spelman, derived from 



■ Assartum, 
tionary, "i 

exertum, to pull up by the roots, for some- 
times 'tis written Essert; and Fleta tells us 
• \— Minim est quod redactum est ad 
culturam.' " The best dissertation, however, 
upon this word is in the fifth volume of the 
Arelr.eologia. p. 21.">. " Newland," says 

Watson, in his History of Halifax, "is men- 
tioned by the name of an Assart, 34th 
Edward 3rd. Ami again," says lie " I have 
a copy of a Deed whereby William de Osseste 
(Ossett) grants an Ajssart in Linley, to Henry 
de Sacrafonte, of Stainland." 



Pour or five centuries ago, therefore, it 
seems, there was land in cultivation (arable. 
meadow, and pasture, probably) where, then- 
tofore, there had been a wood; and this 
ground, so cultivated, or, in one word, this 
" Assartf'was situate 1 between Morley and 
the rivulet running at the bottom of Middleton 
Wood, down to the skirts of the hospital of 
Beeston. Now, then, let us come to Domes- 
day admeasurement — " There is a Church — a 
native wood, one mile long and one broad." 
Let us also remember that the Church (situate 
where it now is) is described as being in 
Morley Wood, in another part of Domesday 
book ; and then let us consider the distance 
between the Church and the rivulet on the 
Middleton side (as near a mile as may be). 
When we have so far advanced, methinks 
there will be little difficulty in solving a 
curious problem pretty accurately. At all 
events my conjecture, founded on the pre- 
mises, on the aspect of the country, and 
nature of the climate is, that although the 
Church, and perhaps village of Morley, were 
within its wood, yet, that this wood chiefly 
laid at the North and North East sides of 
them both. 

Hollingshed, in his descriptien of the course 
of the River Aire and its tributary streams, 
proceeds thus : — ;i Hence." says he, " the 
Aire g-oeth to Rishforth Hall, and so on to 
Bungley, where it taketh a ryll from Den- 
holme Park to Shipeley, and there crossing 
another from Thorneton, Leventhorpe. and 
Bradford, it'goeth to Calverley, to Christall, 
and so to Leedes ; where one water runneth 
thereinto by North from Mettlewood. "(Mean- 
wood or Weetwood side, I presume) " and two 
other by South, in one chanell ; whereof the 
first hath two amies, of which the one cometh 
by Pudsey Chapell, the other from Adwalton, 
their confluence being made above Farneley 
Hall. The other likewise hath two heades. 
whereof one is above Morley, and the other 
cometh from Dominyley. and meeting with 
the first, not far South of Leeds, they both 
fall into the Aire." 

It is not easy to determine which of the 
two becks, rills, or rivulets, is here spoken of 
by Hollingshead — whether that which flows 
through the present village of Morley. having 
in its line the k - Gore* Wells," — or that which 
is really " above," or on the South side of the 

Gore signifies "the lowest part" of a place. "This," 
says a writer in the Arcreologia, vol 17, p. 148, " is one of 
those words which occur in every country from the Ganges to 

the Shannon." 



83 



village; — the high antiquity and generality 
of the word --Gore," and this also being the 
stronger stream, would decide the question 
were there not stronger evidence on the other 
side. 

In the earliest times lands were divided 
(according to the mode in which they were 
o-tiniated or measured) into "terra bovata" 
(oxgang land) and "terra rodata" (rode 
land). The first of these was ancient inclosure, 
which having been from time immemorial under 
the plough, was measured by the quantity 
which one ox (of which there were eight in a 
caruca) could plough in one season. The 
second was land lately reclaimed or thrown 
into cultivation, and which may be proved to 
have been synonymous with u Assart."* 

To apply this to the subject before us, 
there is, on the South side of this latter 
rivulet, extending along the road across our 
Upper Common (newly inclosed) and on the 
East side thereof, extending towards Topcliffe 
Moor, a large tract of land called " the Rods" 
— evidently redes or roods ; which, till very 
lately, was almost surrounded by ancient 
waste. There is also, in this tract, stretching 
from Morley towards Middleton Wood, some 
land lately called " the Royds." Now, here 
we have, in my opinion, skirting all along 
the bottom of Topcliffe Moor, the Southern 
side of our Ancient Wood. 

Such are the thoughts which strike my 
mind very forcibly, and for suggesting which, 
now that our Upper Common is gone, and 
Topcliffe Moor inclosing-, the antiquary of 
future days will respect my name. If, how- 
ever, any one should question the etymology 
last-mentioned, it will perhaps strike him that 
in all probability the rods or rodes were so 
called from two or more ancient Crosses 
having anciently stood at the entrance of the 
village on the South side, which is somewhat 
countenanced by the fact of ••Stump Cross" 
being very near the spot. If these Crosses 
were of the same class as that, they unques- 
tionably were boundary Crosses, and were Bel 
up to define the limits of our township, and 
those of West Anlsley or Woodkirk ; but 
they were, more probably, of the class which 
1 would denominate sanctuary — highway, or 
procession Crosses. Of Stump Cross 1 shall 

Write hereafter. 

" One Essart, called Swainej Kod< ".Martin's Kssart. 
or Martin Bode. " "One Essart, called Martin Rode." Bee 
Burton'i Bfon Ebor Article Kirkstall. Again, Biding is 
nrnonimous with Assart, thus "One Eaaart, culled Todhill 
Riding." " One Easart, called Tallin Ridings," &c n> cire 



I cannot conclude the curious subject of our 

ancient Native Wood, "l leng long*, et 1 late," 
without shewing to the reader what a district 
of forests this must formerly have been. The 
very name of a wood, about half a mile North 
West of us, partly proves this. It is called 

•• Dean' 1 Wood, and the smaller c >pses now 

called -Clubbed Oaks." -Clark Springs," 
and •• Dailil Wood," which, no doubt, were a 
part of it when it stretched itself West and 
East down to the hospital of Beeston, may 
well convince any one, that on the North side 
of the Leeds and Klland road, and beyond 
Morley, there was a continued chain of forests 
in the "Olden times." Dean is a word which 
comes from arden or ardean — a word which 
the Gauls and Britons used for a wood," and 
accordingly we find one in Gloucestershire, 
called •• Dean forest," mostly destroyed now, 
but once so dark, thick, and dangerous, and 
its inhabitants so barbarous and terrible, that 
an act of parliament was become necessary, 
in Henry the Gtlfs reign, to restrain their 
outrages. And here, by the way, to complete 
the picture, I would just state that the road 
from Leeds to Manchester in these times, 
was as follows: — First, through Beeston t > 
•• Morley Hole,* and up Necpshaw-lane to the 
••Street," or Roman road (extending from 
about Bradford to Castleford, as hereafter will 
be mentioned); next, along this road, till it 
leached Adwalton. It then was left, and 
the way was over Adwalton-moor, down 
•• Warren's-lane.'* past "Oakwell," and up to 
Comersal.t This also, was one of the way>. 
perhaps the only one. to Halifax. 

In my progress over these fragments of 
our local history, I have laboured under one 
extraordinary disadvantage, in the want of 
our former registers of births and burials. By 
some unaccountable accidenl these registers 
have been lost, and the present one extends 
only seventy or eighty years. .Much informa- 
tion also has been lost, owing to the liberties 
which have been taken with the papers once 
belonging to the Church of Batley, perhaps 
still iii private hands: bm whether bo or 
destroyed, it is difficult to discover. The 

Wes1 Anlsley or Woodkirk panel's, I am 

credibly informed, were with the family ti» 

which I allude, and recovered, 1 believe, by 
the late Mr. Mason, the I 'urate of Wood- 
church. 

■■ Dean " or " Den, ' uls<> im- u 
i "Oomeraal 1 Is mentioned, 1 believe, in Domesday Book 
Birstal is not. It is but the offspring of Oomeraal, although 

it now gives Its n n i ii- t" I !ir Church, From Gomersal, the old 

road went to Bcholes or w jrke, or ne u 



84 



At the commencement of this work I hinted 
at the extent and consequence of Morley, in 
Saxon times. — the Church of the Hundred 
being here situate a considerable army 
having here wintered, and the place having 
given its name to the Wapentake. I noticed 
its decline, In the time of Rufus or Henry the 
first — its ultimate ruin (probably) under 
Edward the 2nd, and its new birth under the 
Commonwealth of England. Would to heaven 
it were in my power to clothe this skeleton of 
a history in flesh and give it animation, by a 
circumstantial account of the old natives 
during these periods — the last of them 
especially. What little I have gathered of 
their patriotism and bravery has been told ; 
but it is the picture of them in private life — 
all their customs, habits, visionary fancies, 
and domestic manners, that I allude to. 

It is evident to me that, both from what I 
have seen and gathered respecting our old 
townsmen, that they were a plain, thrifty, 
serious, and provident people, who cared so 
little for the elegances, that they scarcely 
thought of the comforts and conveniences of 
life. Their "frugality" however, arose more 
from parental affection, a commendable pride, 
and humble fortune, than from a poverty of 
spirit ; for, until the last spark of right feeling 
was extinguished by the debasing and de- 
moralizing efficacy of the "poor laws," no 
people were more independent, industrious, 
provident, and civil, than our working classes ; 
or more contented than their wealthier neigh- 
bours. Even so late as about the middle of last 
century, there were many families who pre- 
ferred starving, to the disgrace of throwing 
themselves upon the town ; but every sense 
of shame in this respect is now so completely 
extinct (although we have "Savings' Banks" 
and other Institutions for the benefit of the 
poor exclusively,) that the healthy and the 
strong — people whose earnings when in work, 
are from twenty to thirty shillings per week, 
now boldly demand relief upon the slightest 
pressure, having long been taught to consider 
themselves as legitimate mortgagees, and not 
as burthensome paupers. 

The diet o!' our villagers, even in my early 
• lavs, was very different from what it is now. 
United in groups of three or four together, at 
Leeds winter fair, they would purchase an ox, 
and having made partition of it, they salted and 
hung the pieces for their winter food. The 
lr lli Ri il " rashers " which these afforded. 



bread, were a perpetual repast. It was then, 
not without difficulty that three butchers could 
gain a livelihood here; at present we have 
nine or ten, although the population has not 
proportionally increased. Furmenty also, in 
the winter time was much eaten, though it is 
scarcely known, except amongst the principal 
people. I mention this, that our posterity 
may know the uses of those old stone troughs 
which sometimes are seen inverted, broken, or 
used for the meanest purposes. In these, the 
wheat was bruised preparatory to being 
" creed." If I don't mention these things, 
such appears to be the progress of refinement 
among our lower orders, that as little, shortly, 
will be known about the "furmenty trough," 
as is remembered of the "noggin;" which. 
with the "caudle cup," of "two handles" 
and " tea pot spout/' is now as complete a 
puzzle to our ladies, as the Celt is to our 
antiquaries. 

But if the contrast betweet the former and 
present natives of this village be striking as it 
respects^ diet, much more so is it as it regards 
dress. With me it is a matter of doubt 
whether Lady Anna Villiers, wife of Thomas 
Lord Viscount Savile, Earl of Sussex, in her 
noble mansion of Howley Hall, dressed half 
so fine as many females among' our working 
classes ; pinked out, as they are, in their lute- 
strings, lustres, and Norwich crapes — their 
mantles, pelisses, and spencers — their flounces, 
epaulettes, and trimmings. Miss Dawson, the 
wife of the Chancellor of England, did not 
(here at least) appear half so gay as some of 
these ladies ; and as to the granddaughter of 
Major General Greatheed — a personage of 
whom generations yet unborn may speak, she 
would certainly be lost amidst the blaze of 
their splendour. 

Another great and material change which 

• " Browies," I find, was a dish served up at the royal table 
of Henry 7th. See Pennant's London, p. 380— the receipt, 
unfortunately, is unknown ; but I suspect, as in the case of 
our " hastias," it varied from the present only in the seasoning. 
See the note succeeding. 

t We are told by Mr. Lysons. in his London, and by Mr. 
Blount, in his Tenures, that the. Manor of Addington was held 
by the service of making " hastias " in the King's kitchen, on 
the day of his coronation. They say, " it was called the Mess 
of Gyron, or if 'Seyme' be added to it, Maupygernon."— Blount 
and Aubrey call it " Dilligrout," but all these antiquaries, 
finding fault with each other, want the receipt. "Seyme," 
they make out to be " Unguentum," i. e. ointment of some 
kind. It would almost make a dog (in Yorkshire) laugh, to 
read their sage remarks. For their edification, however, as to 
the receipt, 1 refer them to the people of Ilolmfirth, for at 
INlorley two dishes of the kind are now perhaps unknown. 
When we used them, butter was the substitute for seyme — 
Hour or oatmeal was the chief ingredient— no herbs or spices, 
but treacle or sugar was employed ; and the "hastias" was 
made In a "postenet," very common In Edward let's days. 



85 



has taken place in this village, respects the 
amusements of its natives. Formerly our 
youths delighted in youthful pastimes — in 
marbles or "taws" — in kites — knor and spell 
— fcrapball — gells — pennystones — bows and 
arrows, and other sports which are now nearly 
forgotten. The men t< >o, engaged in manly ex- 
ercises—in quoits (the discus of the Romans) 
— in races — in bowls — cricket matches — or 
music meetings. They sung their catches, 
>r Christmas carols — cracked their jokes 
it friendly intercourse — burnt their " yule 
clog " — played their little rubbers at whist, 
and buried all their differences in the festivity 
of the ki wassail cup." But the scene is 
changed ! and the principal relish now is, for 
the alehouse, J by one class of our villagers; 
and the meeting house, by another. 

But the most lamentable change is that 
which is observable in the morals of the people 
in these parts. The old natives, though "m- 
elcyant,' 1 were a considerate race of men, 
whose general, leading maxim was i; to do to 
others, as they would have others do to 
them." They seldom gave any unnecessary 
provocation to their neighbours; and if their 
children or apprentices did so, it was sure to 
be visited with their displeasure and correc- 
tion. With a strictness bordering on severity, 
they compelled them to keep good hours, and 
more especially, to keep holy the Sabbath -day. 
In their times, prostitution was uncommon — 
debauchery (in females) an indelible disgrace, 
and private injuries were rarely heard of. 

It would be well, in a comparative sense, 
if the contrast I am making terminated here; 
but those who have had the experience of forty 
years, or more, know very well that it does not. 
Our former villagers were not only a decent, 
but a well-disposed people. They neither 
envied a neighbour's prosperity, nor rejoiced 
in his misfortunes. While there was miion of 
religious sentiment, there was something like 
a union of interest; and well knowing that 
the more there was of wealth and conse- 
quence in the village, the better it was for all 
of them, they felt more incline I In exalt a 
neighbour than to injure him. At all events 
they paid no court to a low popularity. 

As to the demeanour of our villagers, in 

the time alluded to, as respecting religion, it; 
was natural, unaffected, and lowly. Their's 
was a religion without cant, ostentation, mid 

grimace. It interfered not with social and 

ago, thet were but about two habitual and 



family duties on the one hand, nor with inno- 
cent recreations and healthy sports on the 
other. It fostered no pride — it excited no 
disgust — it encouraged no presumption — it 
excluded none of the kindliest feelings of 
humanity. In a word, it had far less to do 
with those visionary nights and fancies, called 
; * experience," and other fanatical vagaries of 
the head, than with the grateful and generous 
emotions of the heart. 

Such were the people of Morley, for the 
most part, under the tuition of the " Presby- 
terian " Ministry, and such were their 
descendants. But when the " wolves in 
sheep's clothing" came here, "compassing 
land and sea to make proselytes," — when the 
apple of discord was thrown, by the artful 
introduction of the "five* points." — when a 
shorter road to heaven was proclaimed than 
our Puritan Pastors ever knew, — when a 
substitute was found for Christian tempers 
and moral habits, a gloomy, morose, ascetic, 
and intolerant fanaticism arose, by which 
morals were displaced, reason was con- 
temned, gaiety banished, learning undervalue'!, 
character laid low, and oven the attributes of 
Deity impugned. 

It was at this period, as I consider it. that 
the common bond of village union became 
broken. Henceforth, Sects and .Meeting- 
houses multiplied, each having its little con- 
fined pale around it ; a neighbourly and social 
intercourse was superseded by disputatious 
wrangling, — and morality and patriotism, by 
polemical controversy. 

Before the middle of the last century our 
natives had a remarkable predilection for 
Ministers of talent and education, and towards 
such, though of different opinions, they dis- 
played a liberality truly charming. .Many 
excellent men of the Anabaptist persuasion, 
in those days of peace and onion, officiated 
here. There were three things only to which 
our Old Pastors and their people were par- 
ticularly averse — ignorance — (its usual con- 
comitant) intolerance. and immorality. 
Hundreds of those itinerant people who are 
followed now a-days.f might have excited 

their laughter, but could newr have engaged 

their attention. 

It is unfortunate For society, and often For 
the individual himself, whenever a person 

These an predestination original -in partlonlarredemp 
Hon b raoe and tin- peraeverai Lnta 

t [ allude chiefly to the itinerant Preaol timed. 



St 



mistakes his qualifications, and assumes an 
office of responsibility and difficulty without 
education, study, and experience, [f a lazy. 
or a crazy pedlar, for instance, takes up the 
calling of a Minister of religion — a bailiff, 
that of a lawyer —or a farrier and cow doctor 
that of a surgeon and apothecary, these men 
not only make themselves ridiculous, hut do 
incredible mischief to society. With our 
sensible forefathers it was a common maxim — 
•• Let every cobbler stick to his last." The 
people I allude to, they might perhaps have 
employed to mend their clothes, their kettles, 
or their shoes — to sell their cloth or to weave 
it ; but bad any one asked permission for 
them to enter their pulpit, they would have 
set him down for a lunatic, a fool, or a jester. 
Little did they imagine that a man who could 
scarcely read and write, would ever have the 
assurance to aspire to such an eminence, or 
that their posterity would be such simpletons 
as to allow if. 

As the morals and manners of a people will 
ever depend, in some measure, upon the 
description of Ministers who officiate among 
them ; it is easy to account in part for the 
present state of our population in the general. 
The Old Pastors of this village. Mr. Nesse, 
Mr. Pickering, Mr. Dawson. Mr. Aired, and 
Mr. Morgan, possessing that which displayed 
the scholar, the Christian, and the gentlemen, 
were eminently qualified to excite admiration, 
to inspire reverence, and to promote piety — 
to make men wiser in fact, as well as better. 
Yet, although in them the advantages of a 
liberal education and good abilities were 
united, they still felt it incumbent upon them 
to be prepared for their labours upon the 
Sabbath-day. Their preaching, as far as can 
be collected, was not an unpremeditated 
rhapsody — a mere jingle of scripture phrases, 
devoid of connection and proper application, 
— a visionary exposition of internal feelings, 
called "experiences;" about which, alas! we 
are so little instructed by the experience of 
the wisest and best of men. Much less did 

they degrade their ministry, by a contemptible 

"tittle tattle*' aboui ordinary or fanciful 
occurrences, which might even disgust an old 

woman, in a parish workhouse. No! What- 
ever difference there might be in the tenets of 

these admirable men on immaterial points, 

there wa> no controversy on the importance 
of social duties — the value of learning- the 

advantages of application — the absolute 



necessity of a good life, and the proper 
qualifications of a Christian Pastor. 

It was not, however, in 1763, but many 
years before it. that the village was first 
visited by an illiterate and itinerant Ministry. 
The Methodists, who sprang up about 172'.». 
and became considerable by Whitfield's party 
in 1735, soon found their way to Morley : 
and assisted by the celebrated Miss Bosanquet, 
who then lived at Cross Hall, built a Meeting- 
house, in 1756. Now. the schemes of the 
Founder, or Master-builder of this sect were 
dee]) laid in policy, and evince a thorough 
knowledge of human nature. Few men. 
indeed, have shewn themselves better ac- 
quainted with mankind than John Wesley. 
He saw clearly the absurdity of those who 
dream of making converts by argument, or 
indeed by any other means than those by 
which the passions are addressed.* He had 
the craft to perceive what that was which 
constituted the strength, but he saw also into 
the weakness of two great systems of eccle- 
siastical policy. In addition, therefore, to the 
sweets of melody and display, he enlisted 
thousands by the fascinations of the marvel- 
lous, and the charms of novelty. — The 
foundation-stone, indeed, of his mighty edifice 
appears to me to be laid in the power of 
novelty: and so long as that remains, and 
the mass of mankind are illiterate, the build- 
ing which he has reared will stand. 

But the tiling of which I write, however 
captivating to " the many." has little in it to 
engage the man of learning and reflection. 
It presents gratification to the eye, and partly 
to the ear. but less than either to the mind. 
It exhibits an ever varying succession of faros 
and of shews ; but it affords little variety of 
the contemplative kind. It is better qualified 
to excite the ebullition of the passions, than 
to inform the understanding, or discipline the 
a flections. f 

This system (A' perpetual change and variety 
is still, however, admirably adapted to catch 
the multitude. The mass of mankind, like 
children, having no resources within them- 
selves, require continual excitement from 

Mr. FoBbroke, in that admirable work, his " British 
Monachism," gives us this very just sentiment : " Fanaticism," 
Bays he, "will ever have success. It treats upon a subject 
where there i< a general feeling and interest, ami acts- by 
i,ji, rating i>i»>h passion, which is always contagious and intel- 
ligible : because the sensations of all mankind are similar, 
though their understandings may differ." 

t Mr Vaughan, in his Life <>f Wycliflfe, has this very 
sensible remark. "To inform the understanding, and dis- 
cipline the affections, may have been found a more laborious 
enterprise than to impress the senses, and to raise indefinite 
emotion in the place of principle" Vol. 2, p. 330. 



87 



without. They soon tire of the same person 
or the same thing, however excellent, and 
pant for novelty under every form. In 
country places, especially, their ennui must 
be banished — their curiosity must be fed, and 
nothing succeeds with them like a bold 
assurance, theatrical display, stentorian lungs, 
and matter of the marvellous and mysterious 
kind. The contrivance, therefore, which by 
the selection of fit agents and dexterous shift- 
ing of the scenes, provides for requisites like 
these, must needs be admired for its cunning, 
if not applauded for its effects. 

It may well enough be imagined, that a 
scheme planned with uncommon shrewdness, 
and attended with a corresponding success, 
would not be lost upon the party opposed 
most directly to Arminianism, and burning 
with a kindred zeal to make proselytes. To 
me it seems evident that they have improved 
upon the plan even of Wesley, by providing 
for the excitement and relief which his system 
supplies, and yet retaining the resident Pastor, 
in every place advantageous to a people, but 
more especially in villages. At all events, 
between the two parties, there have been 
exhibited here a Ministry, in the general, 
very different to that of .Mr. Wales, Mr. 
Nesse, Mr. Sharpe, Mi-. Pickering, Mi-. Daw- 
son, Mr. Aired, or Mr. Morgan. 

In days of yore, there was scarcely in the 
kingdom a more useful, respectable, and 
lovely character than the Presbyterian village 
Pastor, lie was not the only shepherd of 
the flock, but commonly the superintendent 
nf education, or at least, had private pupils 
under his own roof. And possessing a fund 
of general information, with a small fortune, 
whatever distress arose amongst them, he 
was (he common refuge of his people — in 
medical and other concerns he assisted them 
gratuitously, and with affection; and he 
seldom forgot them upon a bed of death — but 
he sought not those who valued not him — he 
contracted not the ••familiarity" which 
••begets contempt" — he lent himself not a 
pander to the passions of the base — he 

courted uol the fame of a contemptible 
popularity. 

Such, generally, were our old Ministers to 
the people of these districts to the destitute 
or distressed — a help in trouble t<» the 
classes above them, an invaluable treasure — 
their faithful '• intimates " — their enlightened 
•• guides "— their delightful " acquaintance." 
Their houses were the scats of comfort, of 



hospitality, and of learning. A gentleman 
might in those times point his finger at the 
venerable man, and exclaim with exultation 
to a friend — " There — Sir — is the Pastor of 
the village." 

I have before hinted at the love of -'the 
many " for matter of the mysterious and un- 
intelligible kind, and I take leave here to 
advert again to a source from whence is 
derived the popularity of illiterate and itinerant 
preachers. It may seem strange to gay of 
any people that they are most partial to thai 
which they can least comprehend, but it is 
nevertheless, too evident to be disputed. The 
remark, indeed, is not to be confined to the 
present day, but may be extended to other 
ages and countries. Diogenes Laertius, for 
instance, tells us that Heraclitus, the Grecian 
philosopher, wrote a book " which gained an 
extraordinary reputation, because iiobodif 
understood //.'' Now I am well convinced 
that Heraclitus chose his subject with a single 
eye to this very popularity, and that, to make 
;t assurance doubly sure," he involved it in 
the darkness of a turgid, verbose, meta- 
physical, or inflated phraseology.* His object 
was not to enlighten, to demonstrate and to 
convince, but to cajole — to astonish, and to 
confound. Had he lived in our times and 
country, he would certainly have been called 
(according to the usual slang) "a fine man" 
or •• a polished shaft; " but. at all events, his 
ambition and his craft would have kept him 
aloof from a small philosophic sect or party 
which is u every where spoken against" either 
for their religious or political tenets. 

In matter of the incomprehensible kind 
there is that which is naturally imposing — its 
pretensions are lofty and assuming. Some- 
what "a kin" to infallibility, it equally 
demands the surrender of knowledge, and the 
prostration of reason. It is a mist which 
magnifies the object in an amazing degree, 
and invests it with a solemn grandeur — 
appearing to emanate from superior authority 

or intelligence, it excites veneration and 

wonder. 

This species of "fallacy" powerful enough 
in itself, acquires, however, additional strength 

when bv (i, cans of ii ;i sorl of substitute i- 

proposed foi Christian tempers and social 

duties There is nothing t<» which fanatics 

and enthusiasts an- generally more averse, 

Jual like many sermoni which i have hraxi tnrt mod. 
sting which, it is difficult tony whether the dictionary 
or the night cap wu the more necettary accompaniment. 



88 



than tl) it a Christian Spirit, and moral habits, 

should be at all set up as the criterion of 
characl t. They present, as is weU known. 

a stand rdi of excellence hardly to ho attained 
withoul many a struggle, many sacrifices, and 
some discipline, as appointed to man in this 
probati >nary state. They afford a test by 
which .nan may be estimated and contrasted 
with man, with considerable accuracy. Here 
fraud, hypocrisy, and malevolence are detected 
and unmasked — the hand writing- appears 
upon the wall, and it says to the pharisaical 
professor, however orthodox, " Thou art 
weighed in the balance and art found want- 
ing." 

It has often been remarked, and with great 
justice, that substitutions for virtues have, in 
all ages been attempted, and have been suc- 
cessful. The Heathens with their festivals, 
processions, and rites ; — the Jews with their 
pompous and costly ceremonials ; — the Papists 
with their austerities, their pageantry, and 
penances ; — the Reformers with their absolu- 
tions, their formalities, and creeds ; — and alas ! 
most Dissenters with their dogmas, their pro- 
fessions, and " experiences," have all strewed 
poppies over the guilty conscience — but, how- 
ever popular or acceptable any scheme of 
religion may be, the devices of man can never 
affect the nature of holiness or immutability 
of truth. 

It would be very easy to pursue the sub- 
ject, and account for certain changes which 
have happened at Morley, since the early 
part of the last century — to show how per- 
fectly natural it is that any persuasion should 
be acceptable, which appears,* at least, to 
release people from the trouble of acquiring 
moral habits, and cultivating Christian 
tempers; and no less easy would it be to 
shew that, when morality is "preached out 
of doors," when character and conduct are of 
small account, the inhabitants of any place 
will become brutal. 

But, although it is evident that the 
demoralization of our people is partly occa- 
sioned by the circumstances alluded to, yet 
the chief cause of it may well be attributed to 
the change which has taken place in the 

t A religion merely notional, or consisting in profession 
only that is to say, " Faith," of whatever kind, without 
morals, affords no standard at all. 

I cannot help here observing, that to propagate any thing 
which tends to weaken all moral obligation t'> encourage 
IK ople. who are falie, fraudulent, hypocritical, and malignant, 
( i8 an- B I " -" proportion of I he lower Orders) to lad eve them- 
selves religion! . and the favourite , of heaven, is as pernicious 
a pracl Ice, and ai complete an Imposture, as was ever practised 

bj Catholic Priests, in the darkest agi "i Poperj 



manufacturing system. A change by virtue 
of which, the lie between 'parent and child has 

been broken. 

"Factories." as Dr. Whitaker has well 
remarked, "are the hot-beds of early im- 
morality, premature marriage, and unnatural 
population." If one could wonder at any- 
thing- now-a-days, it would be that such 
establishments and their appurtenances have 
not long since been a subject for legislative 
interference. One thing is certain, that they 
have polluted our land in various ways — 
impoverished thousands, and plagued millions. 
They have polluted our waters, not a minnow 
can now live in those brooks, where in my 
early days I have found both trout and eels. 
They have polluted our atmosphere and vege- 
tation, for scarce anything can flourish in 
their vicinity ; and they have polluted our 
youth, as I shall show hereafter. 

Before the introduction of this new and 
complicated machinery, which has filled our 
warehouses with cloth, and glutted the 
markets ;f and while manual labour was the 
chief requisite, our manufactures advanced 
progressively ; so that, towards the close of 
the last century, we had many respectable, 
substantial, happy clothiers at Morley, who 
kept their apprentices, servants, and children 
in some subordination. The village, in these 
times, wore a cheerful aspect — for industry 
and content appeared in their dwellings. The 
loom w r as heard in almost every house, and 
the beat of the swinging-rods, or the song of 
joy, resounded through our valleys, from hill 
to hill. The young people, generally working 
for their parents, or as servants in the best 
families, were taught civility, obedience, and 
domestic management — especially the females, 
who thus received such lessons of economy as 
fitted them for the duties of maturer age, or 
the marriage state. Oh ! what a revolution 
have I seen ! how altered are the times ! 

The great mischief of the present system 
is, that it has completely broken the tie (as I 
before observed) between parent and child. 
Our youth, huddled altogether (males and 
females) in those pest houses — the factories, 
exposed to the contagion of bad example, and 
immoral intercourse, soon display a correspond- 

\ From the best information which I can obtain, the 
quantity of cloth exported is very small, compared to what is 
consumed at home, or among British subjects. Perhaps not 
more than one tenth of our manufactures are really purchased 
l>v foreigners. One would think that the inference was 
manifest. Che words " Foreign Trade." like " Constitution " 
and other high sounding words, seem all a fallacy— a humbug, 
when closely examined 



89 



ing deportment. The boy receiving his weekly 
wages, is now a man at about sixteen years 
of age, perfectly aware of his independence, 
and, of course, under no sort of control. He 
pays his parents, or others, something for his 
board — gets his clothes out of part, and 
spends the remainder of his earnings as he 
pleases. His forefathers, when they thought 
of marriage, first got a house — then a wife — 
and then a child ; but the clever fellow of the 
present day first gets the child, then the ivife, 
and, last of all, the house. The factory girl 
too receives her earnings herself, and what 
she pays not to her parents for necessaries, is 
expended in extravagance and dress. It may, 
well enough, be imagined, therefore, how 
frequently such "independent people" con- 
sult their friends in the affair of marriage, 
and are influenced by their advice or com- 
mands in any respect. It is generally thought. 
I believe, pretty clever if, between the two 
purses, there can be " raised " a bed, a few 
chairs, and a table. 

The tie of authority thus broken — the tie 
of duty and affection is of small account. The 
servant is now the master — the child is now 
the lodger only. lie follows not his parents, 
as in days of yore, to the house of God ; nor. 
peradventure, if he did, would he hear much 
of those precepts which were ever on the lips 
of our Old Pastors — " Honour thy father and 
thy mother, that thy days may be long in the 
land which the Lord thy God giveth thee." 
'•The eye that mocketh at his father, and 
despiseth to obey his mother, the ravens of 
the valley shall pick it out, and the young 
eagles shall eat it." No ! no! we are grown 
too wise, hereabouts, to approve anything 
but " doctrinal preaching" — the speaking of 
k * experiences" * — and discussion of "the 
points." 

It needs no proving that the promiscuous 
intercourse of the sexes, of all ages, must be 
very baneful to society. It encourages all the 
bad passions and propensities, and none of 
the good ones. It banishes all modesty and 
self esteem — respect to superiors, ami civility 
lo neighbours. If is the nurse of ignorance, 
impudence, and presumption. If begets 
pauperism ami poverty — most serious incum- 
brances upon small freeholds, ami must serious 
mischiefs elsewhere. In short, however severe 

Upon this point, to do the men of the present da] 
justice, they are, I believe, pretty consistenl tor In i 
find the same class of Dissenters admitted none as mi i 
of their church who could not give a sufficient s 
the whole congregation th.it they wer In a 
Sec Appendix to the Life of Archbishop Sanoroft, p. ii". 



Dr. Whitaker may be thought in some of his 
strictures on the factory system, we are often 
reminded of the truth of them, by woeful 
experience in these districts. 

Respecting Morley, in a local and pic- 
turesque view, I cannot but observe (detesting 
as I do a flat country) it excels any village 
hereabouts ; and much more any village that 
I have noticed in the dull, uniform, scenery 
of the Midland Counties. Perhaps 1 may be- 
thought partial to the place, but I assure the 
reader I have no extraordinary reason to be 
so ; — or my taste may be questioned — but 
that I cannot help. There is, certainly, 
nothing so various as taste;* and there mas- 
be people, for anything that I know, who 
prefer the views in Cambridgeshire, for in- 
stance, to those of Windermere and the Vale 
of Keswick ; or the Desarts of Africa to the 
Vale of Arno. At all events, I am not very 
singular in my opinion, for many of our 
visitors from the South, and some settlers 
from flat countries, are much pleased with 
the picturesque, if not romantic, beauties of 
Morley — its hills and valleys — its woods and 
waters— its fine prospects and diversified 
walks — its pure air and excellent springs — 
the line country around it, and convenient 
distance of the market towns. 

Morley is four miles from Leeds; six and 
a half from Wakefield; five Prom Dewsbury ; 
eleven from Iluddersfield ami Halifax: and 
seven from Bradford; it is situate, therefore, 
near the centre of perhaps the mosl populous 
district in the kingdom, save one. taking 
twelve miles as the radius of the circle. It 

is in the very heart of a country abounding 
in coal of every kind, and in quarries of 
excellent stone. Its inhabitants, generally, 

arc; very liealthy,.and many attain (o a con- 
siderable age. One Mary Hartley, who died 
not long ago. at (he age of One hundred and 
four or five, has related to mo many par- 
ticulars of what passed here daring the Scotch 
Rebellion, and I have known several who 
nearly reached one hundred years. 

Knowing that to many il will be of interest 
to note the waxing ami waning of some 
denominations in the Christian World within 

Our parish during the last and present century. 
I here present an extract from a Survey taken 

by the Vicar of Batley, Mr. Scott, in L764. 

\ cnrlous Instance may be seen in Forster's Perennial 

lar, relating t<> Dr. Johnson, and which Is confirmed in 

•i Paper in the Uentleman's Magazine, vol. 93 part 2nd,p 



00 



Pot its accuracy 1 cannot vouch. Indeed I 
believe it to be erroneous in some respects. 

Ghh. 
Families, com. Fam& Preens, [nda Die. An. 

Batley 326 811 224 I ,"»i t:> <> 

Morley 259 619 72 L29 9 39 4 

Gildereome 16G 393 65 6 23 60 

Churwell ... 68 1 40 40 22 1 1 
Besides these there were, it seems, six Mora- 
vian families in Morley,* and one Quaker 
family in Gilders ome. 

In 1811, a census of population was taken, 
when it appeared there were in Batley, 2975; 
— in Morley, 2Jr>7; — Churwell. 666; — Gil- 
dereome, 1400. In May (4th,) 1821, the 
population of Morley township stands thus : — 
Inhabited Houses, G$o; — Families, 634; — 
Houses building, 2; — Empty ditto, 37; — 
Farmers, 56; — Traders, 144; — Others. 28o9 ; 
.Males. 1.3-37 ;— Females, 1482 ;— Total. ;J0o<). 

Upon a few of the ancient houses in this 

and the neighbouring* villages, are found 
dates, which shew them to have been built, 
from 1G80 to 1707, and these appear to have 
been once inhabited by people in good cir- 
cumstances. To the increasing prosperity of 
the woollen trade, these are doubtless, to be 
attributed. One house of this kind, near 
Morley Hole, formerly the property of a Mr. 
llalstead, the village surgeon, has upon it the 
date, 1681, and another, formerly the resi- 
dence of John Dawson, Esq., has 1G83. 
There is another house of the same reign 
(Charles 2nd) but without date, belonging to 
my much valued friend, Mr. Swinden, sur- 
geon, &c. It was purchased by Miss Waller, 
of one Richard Huntington, and, as appears 
from the Title Deeds, was called "Yew Tree 
House." This Lady was much attached to 
Mr. Aired, the old Minister, and perhaps 
might have married him, if some disparity in 
age — her deformity, and his disinclinations, 
had not hindered. She left him, however, by 
her will some property, especially this dwell- 
ing, which his devisees sold to the Rayners, 
a family in which it remained for three or 
four generations. Now it appears, from a 
grave stone in the Chapel-yard, that Richard 
I ho son of Richard Huntington, was here 
interred, in September, L679, and from a 

Comparison of buildings. I infer it was built 

by this person. 

But there is a class of houses still more 

There were in \^K>, about L0 church people ; Independ 
cnt.s, 860 : M'-tliMlists. 670; Ra&terfl <>f the .Methodist (las.,, 

B0; Anabaptlcta, perhaps, 10; Presbyterians, number un- 
known ;— Moravians, none ; — liuukeis, nunc ; -Catholics, 1. 



ancient, and all without dates, which appear 
to ha\c hern built during- the Commonwealth 
times. One of them mi the left side of the 
way on entering the village from Leeds, has 
upon his gateway the inscription* — "Porta 
patens esto, Xulli claudaris honesto." Tradi- 
tion says, that Mr. Pickering-, the Minister, 
"nee lived here; after him. and probably till 
1 <'•'».">. when he died, one "Wyther," an 
attorney, who lies buried at Batley. Next, 
probably, one Rothwell, a schoolmaster, and 
at length some of the Rayner family. There 
is another house on Banks-hills, which it is 
not unlikely was built during the " Oliver 
days." when it is compared with a known 
house of the Protectorate, at Ardsley. 
Another house at the town end. now the 
" Boot and Shoe " Alehouse, 1 refer to James 
the lst's reign — if not before it. The most 
curious dwelling, however, in this vicinity, is 
" Slack's Cottage" — an ancient farm-house, 
the property of the Earl of Dartmouth. 1 
infer it to have been once occupied by a sub- 
stantial farmer, from what Drake tells us in 
his Illustrations of Shakspeare. 

ww The cottages of the peasantry," says he, 
" usually consisted of but two rooms on the 
ground floor — the outer for the servants, aud 
the inner for the master and his family, and 
they were thatched with straw or sedge, 
while the dwelling of the substantial farmer 
was distributed into several rooms above and 
beneath, was coated with white lime or 
cement, and was neatly roofed with reed." 
Now this cottage of Slack's does not cor- 
respond exactly with either description, but, 
appearing to have been chamber height, I 
refer it to the latter class. 

This singular building, which has under- 
gone so many alterations both within and 
without, as to mock antiquarian observation, 
is an ancient lath and plaster, or "post and 
pan" cottage, of exactly the same construc- 
tion as the Chapel, as to its roof especially. 
The shaft of the chimney, immensely large 
and formed of lath and plaster, with a top of 
sticks and bindings, being doubtless a funnel 
for the smoke, constructed at an after period, 
displays the antiquity of the dwelling. — But 
the fire-place is the most surprising — it is 
eleven feel ben inches wide; five feet two 
inches deep; and five feet five inches high. 
In the centre of this space, no doubt, in 
ancient times, was the reredosse or the 
skeleton of a rude ranges and here, around a 
I'ullcil down, February 'Jltb, 1880, but rebuilt as before; 



91 



fire, partly perhaps of coal, but principally of 
wood, did the ancestors of Slack sit plaiting- 
their straw hats by the light of the chimney 
in the day time. These interesting- glimpses 
at the occupations and habits of our old 
natives, I have delighted from boyhood to 
catch from the oldest people. If they seem 
strange at the present day, how much more 
will they amuse our posterity ? 

In this place it may not be amiss to notice 
the Wapentake or Weapontake to which the 
town of Morley gave its name in the Saxon 
times. 

A learned writer observes upon this word 
that, " anciently ' musters ' were taken of the 
armour and weapons of the several inhabi- 
tants of every Hundred, and from such as 
could not find sufficient pledges of their good 
abearing, their weapons were taken and 
delivered to others." 

Another writer says the word comes from 
the Saxon " Waepen " and " Taccan " — to 
deliver by reason that the tenants anciently 
delivered their weapons to every new Lord as 
a token of homage. 

Other accounts or rather conjectures as to 
the meaning of this word, and the nature of 
these assemblages, have been given by other 
authors ; with which, as they neither amuse 
me, nor probably would the leader. I abstain 
from inserting here, especially as 1 doubt not 
that these musters are referable to the tenures 
under which great part of the land in this 
kingdom were once holden. Our great Lords, 
anciently, as is well known, had their inferiors, 
who held land under them by military service; 
and these again had their servants or rather 
vassals, who, upon every summons, were 
brought into the field at the call of their 
superior. The Weapontake. therefore, or in- 
spection of arms, was perhaps held on the 
summons of this great Lord, and the continu- 
ation of tenure would be determined upon 
review at the muster. 

1 own it once struck me that these 
assemblages of the Hundred here were 

anciently convened upon our Low Common ; 
for. until our Enclosure in 1-S17, there were 
two small mounds or hillocks, about four or 
live feet high, and situate from each other 
about ten or twelve yards. These, from time 
to time, were supplied with fresh turf. Per- 
haps they had once been of larger size than 
as 1 saw them, but that it had been obligatory 

upon our townsmen to support them, is mani- 
fest from an inquiry made of our Constable, 



by the Stewards of the Court Baron, at Brad- 
ford, — ^ Do you Iceep up your butts?" — the 
origin of which inquiry and usage I certainly 
then misunderstood — the cause of my error 
will appeal' presently. 

" Butts." says Mr. Nicolas, "were mounds 
of earth erected for the purpose of a target, 
against which arrows were shot, &c. They 
were called ' rounds,' no doubt, from their 
form. In the fifth year of Edward the 4th, 
an Act passed that every Englishman and 
Irishman dwelling with Englishmen, should 
have an English bow of his own height, 
which was to be of yew, wych, hazel, ash, or 
awborne, &c. ; and that ' butts ' should be 
made in evert/ Township* at which the inhabi- 
tants should shoot up and down every feast- 
day, under the penalty of a halfpenny, when 
they should omit this exercise." 

Henry the 8th also, in the third year of his 
reign, ordered that every father was to pro- 
vide a bow and two arrows for his son. when 
he should arrive at seven years old ; and by 
an Act (sixth of his reign) compelled every 
one but the Clergy and Judges to shoot at 
"butts."* Now I had long suspected that 
our butts might have been for purposes of 
archery, but not being able to connect this 
subject with the ordinary inquiry in the Court 
Baron, -at Bradford, and finding the mounds 
or " rounds" so very near together (whereas 
in early times they were one hundred, one 
hundred and forty-eight, or even one hundred 
and sixty yards asunder) I naturally aban- 
doned an idea which 1 now believe to be 
correct, and vainly supposed that our Weapon- 
take had been held at this place. What 
principally convinces me, however, of my 
mistake is, thai 1 have actually discovered 
the place where the inspection of arms was 

taken -at leasl such is my firm conviction. 

We have a place at the Town's-end known 
to all our villagers b}' the name of "the 
Ratten-Row " or " Rotten-Row," — a name of 
very high antiquity. The learned Camden 
deduces it from the German Freebooters or 
hireling auxiliaries, formerly brought into this 

country. " Rotten Or RottUTen," -ays lie, 
"signifies " to muster' hence ltotmeister — B 

Corporal," &c. — This appellation, as we are 



The inhabitants of the Pariah of Norton, in Derbyahiv 
were obliged so lately as the fear l.v.o to keep t\w> ).utt-< to 
shoot at, and to keep them in repair under mute-in penalties. 
ami to p ovide then sons and men-servants with bows and 
.•mows See i > ion's .M. B. vol. r>, p. ISO, See an Instanos of 
ameroemenl for not keeping butts in repair. Ploh's Leicester- 
shire, \oi :;. i> L1S9 



92 



assured by a writer in the Ajchssologia,* 
oocora also at York, Nottingham, Sedburg, 
and Darlington. "A1 three of these plao 
says he, "we likewise meel with ■ Kungate,' 
the Etymon of which has not a little per- 
plexed the late Dr. Drake, who observes, in 
his Eboiacon, p. 312, that ' Hungrygate is 
but a poor conjecture,' and afterwards re- 
marks • that the place was formerly inhabited 
by many eminent merchants.' If it would 
uol be thought pedantry in me to give my 
opinion," says he, "I should, decisively, 
derive it from the Huns or Easterling mer- 
chants, who had staples or marts at the most 
considerable towns in the kingdom." 

Now it is delightful to me to have to 
inform the reader that we not only have a 
" Eatten-Row " at Morley, as there is also at 
Leeds, Wakefield. Halifax, Hunsiet, and per- 
haps Brighouse; but we have"#e HungrM" 
very near it. Another evidence of the ancient 
greatness of Morley. " Eatten-Row ," how- 
ever, on the best authority . is " Muster-How ," 
and this is the very word applied to the 
Weapontake as before quoted. — And thus 
(as I fancy) I have solved a very curious 
question. 

Not far from the - Ratten-Kow " there 
was, in my younger days, a pond, with even 
the bucket of the ancient Ducking Stool re- 
maining ; but some new houses belonging to 
Mr. Isaac Crowther are now built upon the 
spot. I have only to add, for the gratifica- 
tion of antiquaries, that the Rods or Rodes, 
and a place formerly called "Weaver-hill," 
is not far distant. 

As to the butts upon, what was called, the 
Low Common, they stood upon ground now 
the property of the late Mr. Joseph Dixon's 
family, and were swept away upon our late 
Inclosure. At some ancient period there had, 
perhaps, been corresponding butts at the 
usual distances within the old inclosures, or 
rather encroachments ; for, that such had 
been made, the very appearance of the 
"Chapel Flatts," or rather the " Flatt-end," 
testified some year- ago. At all events this 
ground, the North side of the Chapel-yard, 
and the Low Common were certainly the 
village play-ground, and that, in my opinion, 
as latch as the reign of Charles the 1st ; for 
some Of hia coins, now iii my possession, 
were found in the hedges' banks, and the 

village -p«>rts were on the Common till L816. 



Vol. 10, p. 01. 



The next thing deserving of notice in 
Morley is our Stone Quarries. They were 

first opened, or began to be noted, very early 
in the last century, and through the liberality 
of the Earls of Dartmouth have supported 
many delvers and masons. a< well as improved 
the village. The stone, to be sure, is rather 
perishable, but then it is handsome— easy to 
work, and better than most brick. My 
mention of these Quarries, however, is prin- 
cipally on account of the organic remains 
found within them. These are chiefly fossil 
stems of plants which, for ages have been 
unknown in this kingdom, and probably in 
Europe ; especially the bamboo, reed, or cane, 
which, I suppose, is now a native of the 
Indies or of Africa only. " This fossil," says 
Mr. Parkinson, "is frequently found where 
strata of sandstone are found nigh strata of 
coal.* ; Mr. Martin,' says he, ' has seen 
single joints of it in ironstone. This species 
— very numerous, can now onl}- obtain the 
name of fossalia incognita — Botanists having 
not 3'et been able to discover any existing 
analogious plants.' " Merely observing in 
confirmation of Mr. Parkinson's remark that 
this fossil is commonly met with in all our 
neighbouring stratas of stone, especially at 
Dewsbury, I proceed to relate what was dis- 
covered here in 1824, as it is far more curious. 
Sometime in the summer of this year, in a 
solid block of stone, and at a depth of twenty- 
five feet from the surface of the earth, there 
were found eight or ten fossil nuts or acorns, 
supposed by the workmen to have been oak 
acorns. I quickly heard of them — made them 
my own, and have examined them carefully. 
Some are imbedded in the sand stone, others 
have fallen out, leaving their impressions, and 
what was once their husk, or shell. The nuts 
are "ovale" and "lingular" which proves 
them not to have been oak acorns, besides 
which, they do not seem to have been fixed 
in a calix or cup, but like f stone fruit (e . g.) 
cherries to have hung suspended by a stalk. 
That these were the nuts of the " Carpinus 
Betulus," (the larger hornbeam) rather than 
of the beech, as 1 at first suspected, there 
can be little doubt ; however, that the learned 
reader may have a specimen whereby to 
judge for himself, 1 refer him to the Museum, 
at 1 ioeds, where he may find it with this classi- 
cal description "Phytolithus Accutulinum," 

A " Organic Remains, " p. 433. 
1 If my memory does not fail me I have seen such tilings 
called "Droops," either in Linnaeus or some other eminent 
Writer. 



— Martin — u Flag-stone — Chapel- ABorton." 
Whether the learned gentleman who wrote 
this knew what the nuts were, does not 
appear — if he did, he should have told the 
public, as scarcely one person in ten thousand 
would prefert wo hard words to three or four 
intelligible ones: although the mass of man- 
kind think far best of that of which they 
understand the least. I have only to add. 
that my nuts are larger and much better 
defined than those at Leeds. 

In the same block of stone in which these 
nuts were discovered, there were also fossil 
remains of the cane or reed just mentioned ; 
and, what is most curious, a piece of iron of 
the wedge form, two or three inches long. 
This iron, which was found by a stone mason, 
at Leeds, was sent up to London, to be sold, 
so that I can give but an imperfect account 
of it ; but I have a stone with various im- 
pressions from our Quarries, evidently made 
in most remote ages, by what appears to 
have been the handycraft work of man. 

There is one peculiarity in nry specimen of 
these organic remains which, as it sensibly 
operates upon my mind, so I am in hopes it 
may amuse others. Some of my nuts have 
assuredly not arrived at maturity when they 
fell from the tree and were overwhelmed by 
that awful catastrophe whereby the " founda- 
tions of the great deep were broken up-." 
Now in whatever month this took place, 
every record and tradition seems to refer it to 
sometime in summer or the beginning- of 
autumn. But as the inclination of the Earth's 
axis is said to have varied, and the Beasdns 
have certainly done so, not only within the 
course of a few centuries, but perceptibly 
within the memory of man. there can be no 
reliance upon the point with reference to our 
months. I am satisfied, however, from the 
foregoing, that in England the larger horn- 
beam is indigenous — that it grew to its full 
size and brought its nuts to maturity in what 
is now Yorkshire ; and possibly near the spot 
where are now our Quarries, before the last* 
General Deluge or great Convulsion of Natun . 
And it seems far more reasonable to believe 
that those other productions of hot countries 
just mentioned, wore grown here when the 
climate was different, than that they should 
have been wafted by the ocean thousands of 
miles, and deposited in Britain. 



* I say the last General Deluge, because it appears t<> bm 
that one Deluge will not account for appearance in rarloui 
parts of the Earth, See especially the Discoverit? of i u\ in 



As much has been said about deposits made 
by the overflow of rivers of various things, 
which in the course of ages have l>ecome 
fossil, 1 will just state that our Quarries are 
situate near the Turnpike-road from Wakefield 
to Bradford, almost the highest tract in the 
county, and are situate also at about an equal 
distance from the "Aire" and the " ('alder;" 
so that any hypothesis of this kind as to 
these hornbeam nuts is precluded; and 
although there is no record or tradition, or 
appearance of this Quarry ground being other 
than waste, yet it is far from unlikely that 
hornbeams once flourished upon the soil 
which, borne down by the general Deluge 
along with other wood, were all converted to 
other substances, while their fruit, inter- 
mingled with canes, and lighter woods, have 
floated further, got imbedded among the sea 
sand (now stone) and become fossils. 

I have stated that these Quarries were not 
opened before the early part of the last 
century, and this I believe, from inquiry, to 
have been the fact. A\ nence then, it may be 
asked, was the stone gotten whereby the 
ancient stone houses hereabouts have been 
built? This is a perplexing question.* It 
was not gotten at the Pinfold Quarry, for a 
very aged man, one Thomas Westerman, 
could well remember its being opened for 
materials wherewith to mend the roads ; nor 
were they ever fit for an} r other use, — and as 
to any other stone, there is scarcely any fit 
for building purposes. It seems, therefore, 
likely that the stone in question was brought 
from a distance. That with which the 
Mausoleum of my family is constructed, cer- 
tainly came from Westerton. 

Whoever visit- our village will perceive 
much stone of an ornamental kind — such as 
round balls — trellice or open work, such a- is 
seen crowning our ancient baronial mansions 
— wrought toppings, &C. It may be proper 
to mention that much of this came from 
Eowley-Hall, purchased as it was by .Mi'. 
Scatcherd, Mr. Dawson, and others, when 

that noble edifice was demolished. Much of 
it also went to Birstal; and. in short, few of 
it- Burrounding villages are without a large 
portion of the ruins. 

There i< one thing to be told of our ,,|d 
villagers, which may perhaps excite a smile. 
I mean their anxiety to keep up the good (.hi 
Osage of i he •■ Ducking-Stool? 1 Originally it 

Bometlmei i ham thought they have been built out of tbo 
•.he ancient Chapel 



'..1 



stood somewhere abort where the •• Pinfold" 
or Common Pound now is, and was removed 
to Muilov Hole, upon the opening of the 
Quarry for repairs of the roads. Its final 
rercnve, according to tradition, was to the 
" Plush Pond." at the other end of the town. 
and aear" Ratten-Row," as before 1 mentioned. 

A certain writer, whose name I forget, 
observes merrily, "that the Puritans were 
particularly careful to keep up these instru- 
ments of punishment for brawling women;" 
but why they should be so particularly 
anxious upon such a subject it would be 
difficult to discover. For my own part, I 
have as often observed them near Churches 
as elsewhere, and have often thought that if 
with the stocks, for brawling- people of the 
other sex, they were more in use it would be 
no worse for society. 

This punishment of the Ducking-Stool is 
very ancient, and its history so amusing, that 
I shall here again resort to my commonplace- 
book. 

The Saxons called the Ducking-Stool the 
"Scealfmg Stole" J or "Scolding Stool." 
We find it an instrument of punishment, in 
the time of Henry 3rd, under the name of 
"Tomberell"§ or "Tumbrill." Afterwards 
called the '*Trebucket' , or " Cucking-Stool ;" 
and in one of the books of the Exchequer for 
Cornwall, we are told by Mr. Lyson,|| that the 
following curious entry may be found : — 
" Man de Colford Farlo, &c. temp. TIen v - 3rd. 
Quia per objurgationes et ineretrices niulta 
mala in manerium oriuntur, et lites, pugnae, 
defamationes, et alia3 multse inquietationes 
per earum butesias et clamores ; igitur utimui* 
de eisdem, quod, cum captse fuerint, habeant 
judicium de la Colring-Stole. et ibi stabunt, 
nudis pedibus, et suis Crinibus pendeutibus, 
et dispersis, tantb tempore ul aspici 
possint ab omnibus per Viani transeuntibus, 
secundum voluntatem Balivorum nostronim 
capitalium."^! Perhaps o.ur ladies of the 
present day would think this rather harsh 
usage — perhaps some gallant may tell me 
they never deserve it. Be that as it, may, 
the flitch of bacon has not, been claimed at 

J Blount's Tenures by lieokwith, P MO. 

§ Stowe's Annals, p, 290. I! Slag. Brit. vol. :;, p. 824 

■i Sec OUurkson'a Richmond, p. 260 ; also, Hone's Everyday 

Book, vol. 2, i>. m»o. Another Instrument formerly used for 

the correction of scolds in various parte of the kingdom, was 

the "Bridle" or "Brink-." See Plot's History or Stafford 

shire, p. :«!>. Byson's Mag. Brit. v. 2, p. 191 786. Brand, 

v. -1, p. •»<.»] 786. Brand, V. 2, p. L42. By Statute 61st. of 

Henry Bid Brewers and Bakers, committing frauds, were 

to Be ducked in stinking water. 



Dumnow, in Essex, since 1751 — a fact which 
rather looks suspicious. 

Riding the Stang upon a fight between 
husband and wife was in common use at 
Morley dining the last century, but is 
now discontinued. " Staung," says Hicks, 



Eboracensibus est 



Lignum 



Obion ji'iim 



Oontus bajulorum. A person," he adds, "is 
made to ride on a pole for his neighbour's 
wife's fault;" by which, I suppose, he meant, 
when she beat her husband : this, however, 
is an imperfect account, for the stang was 
often ridden when he beat her. But whatever 
might be the event of the battle, the wife had 
always one consolation, which was that of 
enjoying the honours of the victory. A 
wanton wag, upon these occasions, was 
carried on a stang or pole — he was followed 
by a number of such mischievous dogs as 
himself, and was set down or mounted on a 
wall when the " Nomine " was to be repeated. 
Beating a pan at such places, he pronounced 
aloud some doggerel lines, varying according 
to the talents of the cryer, but always begin- 
ning thus — 

" ftanty tan— tan— tan, 
You may hear by the sound of my frying pan 
That Mistress — has beat her good man:" 

The rest was, generally, such sad trash that 
I cannot venture to give a specimen. 

I cannot help remarking, in this place, how 
jealous our forefathers were of their domestic 
consequence, and how fearful they generally 
appeared of wC petticoat Government." — With 
these " Lords of the Creation," it was a 
maxim that " all toll should come into the 
right toll dish ;" by which they meant to tell 
us that tribute of every kind was to be paid 
to the head, or master of every family, as its 
proper sovereign. — They tell us that " the 
same thing may be said of wives as of money* 
or of fire — that they are as they are used — 
helpers or hwters — good servants but bad 
masters" — that " for the most* part it falleth 
out that where wives will rule all, they mar 
all " — maxims which a certain writer gravely 
Bays he heard spoken by wise Lords of the 
Star Chamber, in the cases of the Lady Lake 
and Countess of Suffolk. And, finally, we 
are presented with their thoughts in verse — 

' ' ( 'oncoming wives take this a certain rule- 
That if, at first, you let them have the rule, 
Yourself with them, at last, shall bear no rule, 
Except you let them evermore to rule." 

' There is a most amusing Letter upon this subject in 
Lodge's Illustrations of English History. The Bishop of 
Lichfield interfering in a dispute between the Earl and 
Countess of Shrewsbury, tells his Lordship that it is "a com- 
mon jeste, yet trewe in some sence, that there is but one 
Shrewe in all the worlde, and every man hath her." Lyson'a 
Mag. Brit. vol. 5, p. 115. 



95 



Nor were the Laity only tenacious of these 
points in the good old days of the Common- 
wealth, and Protectorate especially, but their 
Pastors * (who could quote higher authorities 
than that of " Lords of the Star Chamber,") 
occasionally supported their authority. They 
not only maintained, with St. Paul, that 
women should keep silence in the churches. 
but they commanded them to be reverential 
and obedient to their husbands at home. I low- 
wonderfully have women got up in society 
since their days ! ! ! — How altered, for the 
most part, are the usages of the times ! Could 
one of our manly, unpretending, forefathers 
return to us, he would at once exclaim in the 
language of the poet — 

" This is not the world in which 1 was born." 

Another curious custom of our village, now 
little known, is that of "Trashing" or pelting 
common people with old shoes on their return 
from Church upon the wedding-day. f There 
were originally certain offences which sub- 
jected the parties to this unpleasant liability, 
such as refusing to contribute to scholars' 
"Potations" or other convivialities; but in 
process of time the reason of the thing was 
forgotten, and trashing was universal among 
the lower orders. Turf or u Sods" being 
substituted for old shoes, and thrown in jest 
and good humour, not in anger or illwill. 

Although it is true that to this day an old 
shoe is called "a Trash." as is every thing, 
indeed, of no value; yet this, certainly, did 
not give the nuisance its name. To u Trash " 
signifies to clog, incumber, or impede! and 
accordingly we Hnd the rope tied by spoils- 
men round the necks of fleet pointers, to tire 
them well and check their speed, is here- 
abouts called a " Dog Trash." But why old 
shoes in particular were selected as missiles 
most proper for impeding the progress of new 
married persons, it is difficult to discover. § 
The following passage. however,may perhaps 
have some bearing on the subject. 

' The good old Puritans insisted on the woman's Inferiority 
and submission: first, because she was second in order of 
creation; and next, because she was first in the transgres- 
sion ! ! ! 

In the Statutes of St. Paul's Cathedral, the Ver^ere arc 
ordered to be unmarried men, for tliis amusing reason 
" Because a man cannot serve two masters his wife and bis 
official duty." Oentleman's Magazine, L823. pari 2, i». 234. I 
hope none of my acquaintance will believe that I mean any- 
thing offensive by these exl 

t Mr. Hone lias done me the honour to insert an account 
transmitted to him of this usage, in his amusing "Table 
Jiook, vol. 2, p. 34S. 

! This is abundantly proved by Nares in his Glo* I 
article. Shoes or kemp shoe-. 

§ Since writing the above I have discovered that to tinny, 
an old shoe after a person was considered as lucky in former 
times. 



Leobard, the celebrated Saint of Tours, in 
the sixth century, being persuaded in his 
youth to marry, gave his betrothed a ring* 
— a kiss — and a pair of vhoes. This ceremony 
has been explained very much to the dis- 
honour of the Ladies, as referring to the 
absolute servitude of the parties, who in this 
instance, Avere symbolically tied (to use an 
expressive phrase) " Neck and liccls." ~ 

It is by no means my intention to notice 
all the fooleries of our ancient villagers, but 
merely such as are least noticed in antiquarian 
works, and appear most humourous. Like 
other people of their times, they were full of 
whimsies and, superstitious fears. Their talk, 
of course, would run upon witches, wizards, 
omens, and preternatural appearances, especi- 
ally on wittier evenings. Even yet one may 
see, occasionally, the horse shoe behind the 
door of the house, or the branch of a 
" Wiggin "j in the stable, while the balk of 
the former will, peradventure. bear marks of 
the redhot poker from one extremity to the 
other. 

From attentive observation and from read- 
ing, I incline to think not only that our 
ancient English pronunciation and words, but 
expressions also, are better preserved in our 
West-Uiding (especially about Morley), than 
in any other part of the United Kingdom, and 
this I hope to prove by a glossary! of our 
words accompanied by authorities. For the 
present 1 shall confine myself to a few phrases 
— one of them is, " Woe ivorlh thee " — a 
malediction taken from Ezekiel, 30th, v. 2, 
and often used by our common people. 

When the widow of Edward the 4th, hear- 
ing of the imprisonment of her brother. Lord 
Rivers, and other friends, by the Duke of 
Gloucester, took sanctuary in Westminster; 
Rotherham, Archbishop of York, and Chan- 
cellor, repaired to her, for her comfort, with 
the great seal, and with a friendly message 

from the Lord Hasting-. ■•.[ woe worth 
him" quoth the Queen, lor it i< he thatgoeth 
to destroy me " and my blood." •• Fair fall 
thee," is the opposite wish at Morley, and 
denotes a blessing. 



This was probably not the "Gimmal Ring," but the 
" Sponsaliuin Annul 

See Ajronasol. vol. 17, p. 1J7. 
i The Yorkshire word for the mountain ash. Horn 

|. 674 ThiB.il I mistake not, is the" Rantry" 
Sorbus aucuparis or mountain ash, a noted charm a 
witchcraft. Collars ol the mountain ash were ancient!] put 
apon the necks of cattle to keep off witches, This [a ■ i»urc 
Celtic custom. See Popr. Intiqa 

i .My Glossary must, 1 fear, be omitted. 



90 



•• Many come up." and u No many."'* are 
often found in our Monkish writers, and often 
heard here — Marry is evidently pul for Mary. 
See Accedens of Armorie, fo. L20. •• Wilto 
shalto," or " \Y\\\ you nil you." Stowe's 
Annals, p. 174— -350. " By't Mess," or " By 
the Mass," is certainly older than Elizabeth's 
reign, but was common in the early part of 
James's. The solemn asseveration of a 
Priest, and, as I believe, the oath very 
common in parlance among- the Laity, was 
swearing* u by the Sacrament of the body and 
blood of Christ." So that this kind of swear- 
ing- was very little thought of, even in the 
middle ages — 

" By the Mass I'll box you," 

" By Cocke I'll foxe you."— Old J7. 1, 21G. 

Much less were the Popisli elements con- 
sidered, when Major Great-heed swore " By't 
Mess, lie would take Sir John Armit age's 
house with twenty men."f 

Another phrase which seems peculiar now 
to these parts, is one often applied to a 
notoriously idle fellow. Of such an one it is 
said, " He has gotten t' fever harden," which 
means the lazy fever. 

Doctor Andrew Boorde, a celebrated phy- 
sician and scholar, of Henry 8th's reign, in a 
treatise on fevers, makes a few remarks upon 
this head, which are so humourous as to merit 
particular notice, and shall be substituted for 
a tedious account of the etymology of the 
word "lurdan," 

" This fever," says he, " doth come 
naturally, or els by evyll and slouthful 
brynging up. If it do come by nature, then 
the fever is incurable, for it can never be out 
of the fleshe that is bred in the bone: Yf it 
<<>nie by slouthful brynging up, it may be 
holpen by diligent labour." 

(••A Remedy,")— " There is nothing- so 
good for the fever lurden as unguentum 
baculiiium; that is to say, — Take a sticke, or 
wan, of a yarde of length or more, and let it 

be as great as a man's finger, and with if 

anoynt the bark and the shoulders well, 
mornyng and evenyng, and do this twenty- 
one dayes; and if this fever will nol be holpen 

Sec also Speed, 849. 

* Sec Note in a preceding page, to which may lie added, 
thai Charles the 2nd's common oath was " God's Pish," 
(evidently a corruption of Ood's flesh.) See Note i<> Life of 
Lord Russell, p. 02, or Calamy's Memorial, vol. I. p. 114. 

in the middle age solemn oaths were often taken after 

anon the acramenl or consecrated elements which were 

believed to be, as thej still arc bj the CatholicB, the very 

flesh, <>r body and blood of Chri t, Sence the expression 

Corporal Oath," and Llie name of tlic Baoramcntal cloth— 
tlic " Corporate." 



in thai tyme, let them beware of waggynge 
on the galowes; and whyles they do take 
theyr medicine, put no lubberwort into theyr 
potage." 

Anoihei- curious custom among the lower 
orders now disused, is that of " Ranneling," 
which indeed seems peculiar to this district. 
When a boy is rannelled, he is seized by his 
comrades, and is hair is by them so ruffled 
that the head appears like a mop. Rannel is, 
I have no doubt, a corruption of raddle — to 
twist or interweave. 

There is, perhaps, scarcely one word which 
better displays the antiquity of our provincial 
expressions than that of " Laikins " — i. e. — 
playthings. " Laikan," says Dr. Pegge, 
" originally signified ludcre — exultare. It is 
somewhat remarkable," says he, "that this 
word laccan, to play, though we find no 
traces of it in the Saxon, is still prevalent in 
a certain district. In some parts of York- 
shire, to lake is to play, and laikans are 
playthings."* 

A very common expression with us at 
Morley is to say — " I could not find in my 
heart," f — instead of — I could not bear to do 
such and such a thing. Every person con- 
versant with our old writers knows very well 
how generally they used it. 

Nothing is more common also in this dis- 
trict than to hear a person abused by the 
word " Bastard." I do not believe that any 
part of England but ours employs it as our 
lower orders do. In history we read of 
"Bastard Falconbridge,"J -Bastard Heron," 
-Bastard Dacres," " The Bastard of Salis- 
bury," and " Bastard of Exeter," and I know 
not how many others, all of them, doubtless, 
royal bastards. Even William the Conqueror 
was familiarly called "The Bastard," and 
probably not without cause; for without 
adverting to the numerous Fitxs § in our 
annals, we may reasonably conclude from 
the habits of the great, that however 
'•legitimate" they might be in one sense of 
the word, they were, mostly, illegitimate in 
another. Bastard is not now, however, an 
appellation of honour — at least at Morley, 
nor indeed do I know that it ever was. 



One of onr children's games, called "Tig," is very curious, 
and being worthy of illustration, as to its origin, 1 purpose to 
attempt it in Borne Periodical WOik. 
I Speed, 543. 
| Stowe's Anns. Temp. II. H. 6, and ll. 8, page 828, &c. 
§ Page ^st. Speed, Tin, jfco. se also, Bapin, vol l,p 
300. in Speed we have p. 134, & the word "Nothus," 
which often appears In the Batley Register. 



97 



The kindred word "Cuckold" also, with 
the very comfortable adjunct of " old," (L e. 
old cuckold) is not imfrequently heard here- 
abouts, however little gTound there may be 
for the application. It is the " dernier resort" 
among our lower classes as a mode of provo- 
cation ; and a Yorkshireman assures himself 
that when every other epithet of abuse and 
degradation is exhausted, there is still one by 
the sound of which his antagonist will be 
called to battle — " May the curse of the 
crows light on you," is the dreadful and 
dreaded malediction of the Irish. And it 
seems not improbable that both people con- 
sider the same thing as the greatest calamity 
and disgrace which can happen to a man.* 

Of the same species with the forementioned 
is the ludicrous appellation "Riggald," or as 
it should be spelt Righold, which is ubi 
testiculus imus in dorso retinetur. From some 
cause, for which I cannot account, we hear 
but seldom of these kind of people now, which 
seems a pity, as it would be as well for society 
if the species were multiplied. 

Newts or askerds, a very common York- 
shire word, is also of high antiquity. They 
are a species of lizard, found commonly in old 
banks and near water. — 

" Ye spotted snakes with double tongue, 
Thorny hedgehogs be not seen — 
Newts and blindworms do no wrong, 
Come not near the fairy queen." 

For the antiquity of "asker," 1 must briefly 
refer the reader to the Gentleman's Magazine 
for 1754, p. 359. 

It would be easy to prove many other of 
our words to be ancient English, or Saxon, 
but I shall only mention one more, though 
common with us and our more Northern 
neighbours, viz. : — " Barns," or as the Scots 
write it, " Bairns," — (children). A write]- as 
old as Henry ord's reign, says — 

" Mercie for Mary's love of licav'n, 
" Who bore the blissful BARNK, that bought us on the rode" 

One word or two now as to pronunciation. 
We call a plough — a plow, or a pleuf — and 
thus Piers' Ploughman — 

' God save the King, and speed the ploughe, 

And send the Prelate care ynough." 

The rest of such words as just now occur to 
toe 1 will insert, with references to authority 
which proves my point. Let these tew, how- 
ever, suffice — " Kuss " — to kiss ; — " kist " — a 
chest;— "keel"— to cool;— "lig" — to lay 
with ; — " muck " — dirt ; — " mouldewarp " — a 

• One common phrase la " U ; Dicky with blm," which baa 
I doubt not, been retained since Richard thi 8rd i d 

least., if not Richard the 2nd's. The meaning is, that it 
with such a one, or he is ruined. 



mole ; — " stee " — a stile or ladder ; — " theik " 
— to thatch ; — " wark " — work ; — " watter " 
— water; — "girn" — to grin; — "quishin or 
wishin " — a cushion ; — " yearth " — earth ; j — 
" heng " — for hang- — anciently spelled henge. 

There is one word which we use in a 
singular sense, yet exactly as it was used at 
Court, in Henry the 7th's time at least, and 
and that is the word "feel," which not only 
means to touch, but to smell. Whoever 
would wish to peruse a most curious docu- 
ment, taken from the Ilarleian MSS., and 
enjoy a laugh at the oddity of Court instruc- 
tions in days of yore, may find a copy in the 
Gentleman's Magazine for 1787. vol. 57, p. 
21; suffice it here to observe that our English 
Ambassadors who Avere deputed to treat for a 
marriage between Prince Arthur and the 
young- Queen of Naples (Catherine of A rragon) 
are enjoined amongst innumerable other 
thing's, "to approach as near to her mouth as 
they honestly may, to th' entent they may 
'feel' the condition of her breath, &c., and if 
they 'feel' any savour of spices — rose water, 
or muske, by the 'breath of her mouth,' to 
1 marke the same at every tyme.' " The whole 
of this most singular paper discovers to us 
from what source that monster, Henry 8th, 
acquired his mighty fastidious taste in regard 
to the Ladies, and pretty well justifies the 
refusal of a foreigner of rank \ to marry him, 
"not being- (as she sent him word) dis- 
tinguished by Providence with the capital 
advantage of two necks." 

It is time, however, to dose the subject, 
and I shall, therefore, only add my hopes thai 
from the foregoing instances the reader will 
perceive the ignorance of those who talk 
about our provincial dialect ; or, at least, that. 
they are people little conversanl with our old 
historians and poets, and not much in the 
habit of noting the curiosities of literature. 
That OUT ancient English has been long and 
gradually retiring from the Metropolis, is my 

(inn conviction, as also that, from some un- 
known cause, we have more of it retained in 

this vicinity than even in our mosl Northern 
paris. The traces of ancient sports or super- 
stitions J can often observe in our children 1 
games, and one of the most remarkable 1 
have communicated to the publics 



1 So also we in-" for much ; "Shu | 

Po age for pott 

i ' : •■■ D I ' :i hut I MM' 

mj authority for the anecdote. 

§ SCC llolK 



1)8 



Not far from our Stone Quarries is " Slump 
Cross," — the present stone dues qo1 seem 
ancient. Ii stands by the side of the line of 
road called the " StreSet," a Roman military 

way. and just ai the spot where our road 
from Morley meets it — and here we have 
some curious particulars to notice. Stump 
Gross is an expression applied for those 
stones, which for ages have been merely 
boundary stones. || " Many of these Crosses," 
ays Astle, " were anciently demolished by 
the Christians, being', by them, supposed to 
have been dedicated to idolatrous purposes, 
and their ancient names were soon forgotten ; 
which may be the reason why so many 
broken stones are called ; Stump Crosses.' " 

As to the " Street" having anciently been 
a military road, it is proved in various ways. 
" The Saxon word," says Drake, " apparently 
comes from stratum, which in Pliny signifies 
a street or paved highway." " Wherever," 
he adds, " we meet with a road called 
4 Street,' or any town or village said to lie 
upon the street, for instance, Aithwick-on- 
the-Street (Adwick-le- Street), by Doncaster, 
we may easily judge that a Roman road was 
at or near it." It is some confirmation of this re- 
mark that the known Roman Road from Calcaria 
(Tadcaster) to Eboracum (York) goes in part 
by the name of " Street-Houses." 

But besides the et3 7 mology of the word 
" Street," the very names of villages upon it, 
and the Roman coins, dies, and other remains, 
found at Lingwell-Nook, and near Black- 

II There is a Stump Cioss on the road from Ferrybridge to 
Pontefract, the Boundary-Stone between the latter Township 
and Ferryfryetone. Sec Eoothroyd's Fontefract, 441. 



Grates, Adwalton, &c, clearly sets the 
question at rest.** Ilere, however, be it 
observed, that the Roman road did not go to 
Wakefield, but passing along the present line 
to near Ardsley, it left that spot a little on 
the right, and took its course past Lingwell- 
Nook, direct to Castleford. 

" In this neighbourhood," says Dr. AVhit- 
akcr, " are other monuments of Danish times, 
as particularly Tingley, or more truly Tinglaw 
or low, as it is in the best map that ever was 
made for this country, by Mr. Christopher 
Saxton, who lived at or very near that place, 
which in the language of that age, imports a 
Danish Court of Judicature, called l Tinge,' as 
a most excellent guide instructs us. Thinge 
Comitia vel Convocatus Populi. Thinglawe 
applausus ille forensis cum strepitu armorum 
quo diurnabatur ratum et comprobatum est." 
I give this extract as the construction of a 
learned man, whose opinions, however, I am 
frequently compelled to dissent from, and who 
seems to me to have pressed into his service 
in this overstrained etymology a person far 
more conversant with the Northern languages 
than either of us. For my own part, I much 
prefer the termination " ley " in this instance, 
as the names of most of our neighbouring- 
places end thus ; and in my judgment, owe 
their origin to their having been the pos- 
sessions of Saxons or of Danes — the particular 
spots where they fell in battle — or the state 
of cultivation in which they were seen in very 
early periods. Tingley, however, there can 
be no doubt, is of high antiquity. 

Sec an instance of another Roman road passing over a 
waste called " Morley Moor," in Derbyshire. Lyson's, vol. &. 
p. 210. This is a very curious coincidence. 



ARDSLEY 



VERY near to, if not upon the line of the 
" Street," is Ardsley (Eardesley) at a distance 
of about a mile from Dunningley, and more 
than a mile from Tingley. Its Church, having 
been roughcasted and modernised, deceives 
the passenger; but whoever will take the 
trouble to examine its architecture, especially 
its porch, and the Saxon or early Norman 
zigzag arch concealed by it, will agree with 
me as to the probable former consequence of 
the village. 

There is nothing in the interior of this 
Church especially remarkable. The font bears 
date, 1GG3, and many of the seats are lettered 
as belonging to the Copleys, now of Doncaster. 
The oldest stone is for one Ellen Dymond, 
who died the "fift day of January, 1G53." 
The Procters, the Shaws, and the Nettletons, 
next to the Copleys, appear to have been the 
chief families in the Commonwealth times. 

The oldest houses at Ardsley are the Manor 
and Vicarage houses, at the opposite ex- 
tremities of the village. The former, once a 
seat of the Copleys, is now occupied by a 
labouring farmer, called Rollinson. It ap] i 
to have had formerly fine gardens, and 
spacious outbuildings; upon a stone jnsl 
under the pinnacle of the West wing, or gable 
end, is the date, 1022. and the Christian name 
of the Copley who built it—" Robart." The 
motto is, "In Domine confido, 1652," in 
another part; and the armorial bearing or 
crest which seems a griffin or dragon, is still 
perfect. 

It appears from a pedigree of this branch 
of the family preserved, among others, in 
MSS., in the Leeds Library, thai it came 
from Richard Copley, of Batley, who bore 
for arms, a cross moline sable, and that one 
Robert Copley married Ann Savile. h is 
known also, that Alvera Copley, of Batley, 
married Elizabeth, a daughter of Sir John 
Savile. By these intermarriages, no doubt, 
the property of which I write, was broughl 
under one ownership in the seventeenth 
century. 



The Vicarage-House of former times is 
near the Church. I call it a fine old mansion 
of the Protectorate, for by his date of 1653, 
it was built in that memorable year in which 
the ''tutelary Genius"' of England became 
Protector of its Commonwealth. It displays 
upon its front also the crest of the Savile 
family — the owl, and upon the ceiling of a 
bed chamber is a moulding, in fine relief, of a 
Savile, or, at least, a hunter with his spear 
and cup, surrounded by an ornamented circle. 
I have taken the precaution to get a correct 
drawing of this interesting house, for which 
the patriot, if not antiquary, of future days 
will thank me, and have only to observe that. 
except as to the porch in front, it presents a 
nearly similar appearance on all its four 
sides.* 

Lord Fairfax, or Sir Thomas, in one of his 
letters, makes mention of "a -Mr. Ileadeot, of 
Ardsley, a Minister of religion/' but. with all 
my endeavours, I have not been able to make 
out who he was, and whether stationed here 
as Vicar or not. My idea is. that the name 
should have been Ileathcott or Hesketh, and 
that he was, perchance, an ancestor of the 
last Minister at Lee- Fair Chapel. 

Ardsley was the native village of a man of 
whom it has no1 been thought beneath the 
dignity of our national histories to make men- 
tion; but as many things are omitted and 
unknown, which have fallen in my way. 1 
shall present the reader with a biographical 
sketch of a singular character. Ami here I 

must be allowed a digression n\ some length 
for the sake of my credulous countrymen, 

living in an age in which old women have 

conceived themselves pregnant by the Holy 
Ghost, in which Shiloh is expected, ami the 
emphatic warning i^ l>y a wretched sect for- 
gotten. " If any man shall say unto you — 
Lo! here is Chrisl — or there — believe it not, 

for there sh;ill arise false Christs and false 
Prophets who shall BheW great sign< and 

wonders. — Behold! I have told yon before. — 

'I'lir small room and landing over tin- porch \ 
■ me i. in' place, and perl 



L.ofO. 



LOO 



Wherefore, if the} shall say unto you— 
Behold! he is in i le desert go not forth; 

— Behold! he is in the secret chamber — 
believe it uo1 — For as the lightning cometh 
out of the Bast an I shineth even unto the 
West, bo also shall the coming of the Sou of 

man I 

James Nayler, the subject of this memoir. 
was horn, as before Stated, at Ardsley. whore 
he Lived twenty-two years and upwards, until 
he married "according to the world ," as he 
expressed himself. He dwelt afterwards in 
the parish of Wakefield, till some time in the 
Civil War. when he served his country under 
various offices on the side of the Parliament, 
and rose to be Quarter-Master under General 
Lambert. In this service he continued till 
disabled by illness in Scotland, when he 
returned home. About this time he was mem- 
ber of an Independent Church at Horbury,* 
of which Christopher Marshall (heretofore 
mentioned as Minister of Topcliffe), was 
Pastor. By this Society being cast out. on 
charges of blasphemy and incontinence with 
a .Mis. Roper (a married woman), he turned 
Quaker. Travelling soon after to visit his 
quaking brethren in Cornwall, he was arrested 
by one Major Saunders, and committed as a 
vagrant ; but being- released by an order from 
the Council of State, he bent his course 
through Chewstoke, in Somersetshire, t) 
Bristol, and here those extraordinary scenes 
were contemplated which I have to relate. 

By way of preliminary, however, I ought 
to observe that notwithstanding the irregulari- 
ties inNayler's life, there were many things 
in the man, which, with low and ignorant 
people, exceedingly favoured his pretensions 
to the Messiahship. lie appeared, both as to 
form and Feature, the perfect likeness to Jesus 
Christ, according to the best descriptions. "f 
Hi- lace was of the oval shape — his forehead 
broad — his hair auburn and long 1 , and parted 
on the brow — his beard flowing — his eyes 
beaming with a benignant lustre — his nose of 
the Grecian or Circassian order — his figure 
erect and majestic — his aspect sedate — his 
speech sententious, deliberate, and grave, mid 
bis manner authoritative. In addition also bo 
these advantages, his studies had been 
devoted to Scripture history, and by some 

means he had caught up the ( Ini Stic heresy 
See mj Note in a foi m< i 

I '| 1,,- l„ 1 III., he. SOl \;i\ I, r IB, I I I Weill's 

Portrait*. There! a three-quarters painting of the Proiihel 
(but in whose pouei i"" i Know not) from which, ol late, 

, en en < ^ ii>u s j 



and the doelrinc of CEons ; so that, like many 
of the "experimental" folk (the Gnostics of 
our day), he could bewilder and confound 
others, without being" detected or abashed 
himself. 

The usual posture of Nayler was sitting in 
a chair, while his company of men and women 
knelt before him. These, it appears, were 
very numerous and constant for whole days 
together. At the commencement of the 
service a female stepped forth and sung, — 

" This is the joyful day, 
JJehold ! the king of righteousness is come I" 

Another taking him by the hand exclaimed — 

" Rise ii]), my love— my dove— and come away. 
Why sittest thou among the pots?" 

Then, putting- his hand upon her mouth, she 
sunk upon the ground before him, the auditory 
vociferating — 

" Holy, holy, holy, to the Almighty !" 

The procession of this lunatic and impostor 
(for lunatic he evidently was), especially in 
passing through Chepstow, was extensive and 
singular. Mounted on the back of a horse or 
mule ; — one, Woodcock, preceded him bare- 
headed, and on foot ; — a female, on each side 
of Nayler, held his bridle; — many spread 
garments in his way, while the ladies sung — 
" Ifosannah to the Son of David — blessed is 
he that cometh in the name of the Lord — 
Hosannah in the highest!" 

But this was only a portion of the incense 
which was offered as homage to this messiah, 
for the letters of the fair sex addressed to 
him were of the warmest and most flattering 
description — They called him k * Jesus" — "the 
Prophet of the most high " — " the King of 
Israel, and the Prince of peace." — It needs 
scarcely to be added, but the fact is, they paid 
him, frequently, a tribute equally acceptable 
to prophets, priests, and kings. 

I know not what sort of a prophet James 

Nayler was. but 1 am sure lie could not be a 

worse one than Richard Brothers, Johanna 

Southcott, and all other such pretenders as 

have since arisen ; — he wrought, however. 

according to the allegation of \)owi\^ Erbury, 

a capital miracle upon her; for he raised her 

from the dead, in Exeter Gaol, after she had 

I departed this life lull two days; and that is 

! more than all the Towsers, .Mousers. and 

Oarousers of Johanna, or the Prophetess her- 

; self ever did, asthey would perhaps acknow- 

! ledge. It is highly probable, however, that 

| the miracles of James Nayler did not end 

here, since t<» a messiah so highly gifted as 



1(11 



he was, it would be much easier, and more 
natural, to produce a Shiloh with the concur- 
rence of Dorcas Erbury, than to bring- back 
her departed spirit to the world it left. Be 
this as it may, the House of Commons, in 
1656, was so sceptical — so irreligious — and 
so insensible to the merits of this Quaker 
Christ, that on Wednesday, the 17th of 
December, in that year, after a patient in- 
vestigation of ten days, it was resolved, — 
" That James Naylor be set on the pillory, 
with his head in the pillory, in the Palace- 
yard, Westminster, during the space of two 
hours, on Thursday following, and should be 
whipped by the hangman through the streets 
from Westminster to the Old Exchange, 
London, and there likewise be set with his 
head in the pillory for the space of two hours, 
between the hours of eleven and one on 
Saturday after, in each place, wearing a paper 
containing an inscription of his crimes ; and 
that, at the Old Exchange, his tongue be 
bored through with a hot iron, and that he be 
there stigmatised also with the letter ' B.' in 
the forehead; and he be afterwards sent to 
Bristol, and be conveyed into and through the 
said city on horseback bare ridged, with his 
face backward, and there also publickly 
whipped the next market day after he comes 
thither; and that, from thence, he be com- 
mitted to prison, to Bridewell, London, and 
there restrained from the societ} r of all people, 
and there to labour hard till he be released 
by Parliament, and during that time to be 
debarred the used of pen, ink, and paper, and 
have no relief but what he earned by his 
daily labour." 

"This sentence was, for the most part. 
executed upon Nayler, when some of his 
followers were so infatuated as to lick his 
wounds — kiss his feet, and lean upon his 
bosom. He was, however, allowed pen, ink, 
and paper, and wrote several books (luting 
his confinement." 

•• When lodged in Bridewell, in order to 
carry on his impostures, he fasted three days, 
but flesh and blood being able to hold out no 
longer, he fell to work to earn himself some 

food. Upon the next change* of Govern- 
ment he obtained his liberty, but died soon 
after without any signs of repentance."' 

This narrative is chiefly taken from the 
State Trials, but a curious MS. now before 
me states that lie retracted his errors, wa& 

' That is, when the tolerant Cromwell came into power. 



discharged from prison the 8th of September, 
1659, and was again received by the Quaker-. 
who had disowned him during his extrava- 
gances. It further states that he set out from 
London the latter end of October, 1GG0. in 
order to return to his wife and children at 
Wakefield, but was taken ill on the road, 
some miles beyond Huntingdon, being robbed 
by the way and left bound, in which condition 
he was found in a field, by a countryman, 
towards evening, and carried to a friend's 
house, at Holme, near King's Repton, but 
soon expired, in November, 1660. 

The Topcliffe Register, under the head of 
" Church Members, 1655," has this remark- 
able entry in the margin : — 

" Besides Bro Elyard, Bro Legine, Bro 
Carver, James Nailor, Bro Bines, Bro 
Richardson, Sister Oxeley, Sister Hannah 
Cassley, Sister Easter Cassley. These de- 
parted from us, and some under Church 
censures? 

There is some ambiguity in the wording of 
this passage, but which ever way it be con- 
strued, I am confident that this was "Jaimes 
Nailor," the prophet, and thai he left Top- 
cliffe, as he did Horbury, under ••Church 
censures;" for, in the first place, he is not 
styled brother like the rest, having undoubt- 
edly at this time turned Quaker; — secondly, 
he had been dismissed from Horbury. or, in 
other words, excommunicated ; — and lastly, 
the Pastor of these same "Independent" 
Churches was Christopher Marshall. 

The Register at Ardsley goes do further 
back than 1662, and is an exceedingly defec- 
tive, slovenly document ; SO that, to make 
out anything like a pedigree of those who 
have descended from this "Stem of Jesse," 
is impossible; bui 1 have the authority of a 
gentleman of the name of Naylor, for saying 
that he is somehow related to the Xailoix of 
Ardsley ; and that lie is from the same Btock 
as the prophet there is no doubt. Be this &S 

it may, he is equally distinguished, as was 

his namesake, though in a very different way. 

being pre-eminenl for hi- great abilities 
extensive information, astonishing memory, 
and unostentatious demeanour. 

The publications <>f dames Nayler arc as 
follows: i-i •• \n Exhortation to the Rulers 
— the Preachers and Lawyers, 1658." 2nd 

•• Milk lor Babes and Meal for -troii-- Men — 

A Feasi of fat things, Wine well refined on 

the Loa<, &c, being the lnval liin-s of the 



102 



Spirit through his Servanl James Nayler, 
written b\ him during the confinement of his 
outward man in prison, London, 1GG1." 3rd 
" Nayler' Salutation to the Seed of God, 
1656," 8vo. 4tli "An Answer to Blome's 
Fanatic History." 

The character of Nayler. when in the army, 
as described by the amiable and excellent 
Lambert, may be seen in Burton's Diary. 
With a discrimination and benevolence 
characteristic of the man, this great General 
addressed the House of Commons, and voted 
in mitigation of punishment. Cromwell also, 
as in the case of Biddle and others, was 
exceedingly averse to the severity of the 
sentence; but the national impression and 
feeling seems to have been too strong to be 
resisted. 

It must not be supposed that James Nayler 
was the first person who illustrated in our 
land the verity of our Saviour's prediction. 
Many " false Christs," and innumerable false 
Prophets had, ages before his day, appeared. 
As it may not be without its use, and as it 
will, certainly, enrich my volume to shew up 
a few of the former class, I shall resort to my 
minutes accordingly. 

The first false Christ of whom I have any 
certain account in our English history, appears 
to have arisen in Henry the 3rd's reign.f 
" There was then brought before a provincial 
Council at Oxford, ' a young man and two 
women — The young man would not go to 
any Church, nor be a partaker in the sacra- 
ments, but had suffered himself to be crucified, 
in whom the scars ®f all the wounds were to 
be seen in his hands, head, side, and feet, and 
he rejoiced to be called ' Jesus ' of these 
women and others. One of the women being- 
old was accused of bewitching the young man 
unto such madness, and also (altering her own 
name) procuring herself to be called 'Mary' 
the mother of Christ. They, being convicted 
of these crimes and others, were adjudged to 
be elosed up between two Avails of stone,J 
where they ended their lives in misery." 

The next false Christ we find in the second 

year of Elizabeth, when one John Moore 

asserted that lie was Christ, and one William 
Jeffrey worshipped him as such. " Divines," 

Burton, v - had him under consideration, 

and could nut convince him. hut he still stood 



t Store's Annals, 268. [b. 1264, Speed, 
| Many skrietons having been found in ancienl stone walls, 
I have no doubt that this horrid mode of txacution was far 
from uncommon in Hit- olden times. 



to it that he was Christ." Stowe also, on 
the authority of Ilollingshed, tells us, " that 
for this offence the latter had a paper set on 
I lis head whereon was written c William 
Gefferie, a most blasphemous heretick, deny- 
ing Christ our Saviour in heaven ;' and that 
he was whipped till he confessed Christ to be 
in heaven. And the said John Moore," says 
he, "being examined and answering over- 
thwartlie, was commanded to pull of his cote, 
doublet, and shirt, which he seemed to do 
very willingly, and after being* whipped an 
arrowshot from Bedlam, at the last he also 
confessed Christ to be in heaven, and himself 
a sinful man." 

The next Messiah appeared in the person 
of one William Hacket, in 1591 — the account 
of him is so ludicrous, so truly diverting, that 
I cannot forbear an abridgement. 

"The 16th daie of July in the morning, 
Edmond Coppinger and Henry Arthington, 
gentlemen, repaired to one AValker's house, 
near unto Broken Wharf of London, where 
conferring with one of their sect, named 
William Ilackett, of Owndale, in the County 
of Northampton, yeoman, the}' offered to 
anoint him King, but Ilackett taking Cop- 
pinger by the hand said, c you shall not neede 
to anoint mee, for I have been already 
anointed in heaven, by the holie Ghost him- 
self.' Then Coppinger asked him what his 
pleasure was to be done ? c Go jowy way 
both,' said he, ' and tell them in the city that 
Christ Jesus is come with his Fan in his hand 
to judge the Earth ; and if any man ask you 
where he is, sa}^, He lies at Walker's house, 
by Broken Wharf e ! And if the}' will not 
believe it, let them come and kill me if they 
can, for as truly as Christ Jesus is in Heaven, 
so truly is he come to judge the World.' " 

The remainder of the story, which is too 
long for insertion, may be found in Stowe's 
Annals. Suffice it here to observe, that 
Coppinger, "the Prophet of Mercy," and 
Arthington, "the Prophet of Judgment," 
rather more than fulfilled their mission, in 
preaching from a cart — that one of them was 
committed to the "-Counter," in Wood-Street, 
t he < )ther sent to Bridewell ; and that Ilackett, 
the great Messiah, was hanged. 

It is not my intention to write a Bedlam 
Calendar, or on the credulity of mankind, 
although 1 have by me the finest materials 
for such a work. There always have been 
lunatics and knaves — dupes and fools, and 
always will be. My propensity to mirth or 



103 



sarcasm would lead me also to comment 
on the strange modes which in sundry ages, 
and by all religionists, have been adopted for 
enlightening the mind and correcting the 
judgment ;* for the suppression of error, and 

* The arguments ef Roman Catholics have always been very 
" forcible " ones for this purpose. Such as compelling people 
to walk round Churches, nearly in a state of nudity, with 
faggots tied on their backs — or candles in their hands— whip- 
pings—fastings—or other corporal punishments, rite Gent's 



the propagation of truth, but I abstain. The 
moral to be drawn from the few preceding- 
pages is obvious, and the leading reflection 
with me (whether in reviewing the past or 
the present times, the opinions or the actions 
of others) is this — What is man when his 
reason forsakes him. or lie abandons it ! ! 

Kingstone-on-Hull, p. IS, Stowe's Annals, p. SS5— 1005, &c. 
Archaeol. vol. 9, p. 373, &c. 



TOFCLIFFE. 



RETEAOING our Bteps from Ardsley to Ting- 
ley, at the distance of half a mile, on the 

right, lies Topcliffe, where formerly was ;t 
seat of Sir John Topcliffe, Chief Justice of 
the Court of King's Bench, Master of the 
.Mint, and one of the great Officers of the 
Royal Household in the reigns of Henry the 
7th and 8th : and there is some reason for 
believing that he lived here also under that of 
Richard 3rd. There is, or was some few 
years ago. at the principal house in Topcliffe, 
a very ancient bedstead in good preservation 
as to its backboard, on which were the effigies, 
a- I conjecture, of Sir John, in the costume 
of his various offices, with the crests of his 
Sovereigns, but especially of Richard 3rd — 
the "white boar" being conspicuous in 
various parts. On one of the panels a build- 
ing is painted, probably to represent the 
Mint; and on the stocks of this very bed- 
stead it is not unlikely that the Chief Justice 
breathed his last, as lie was biuied at Wood- 
chnrch, a mile hence, where the slab covering 
his ashes, and still perfect, has the following 
inscription : — 

"Orate pro Anima Johannis Topcliffe, 
quondam Oapitalis Justiciarii Domini Regis. 
Hen. vii. and viii. hem Magistri Monetae qui 
quidem obiit. .\ii. die Decembris Anno Domini 



f Dr. WMtaker Bupposes, but for what reason I know not. 
that his father's Christian name was Gilbert. History of 
Leeds, p. 217. 



Mcccccxiiii. cujus Animte propicietur Deus." 
I rather suspect that Sir John was one of 
the family of the Topcliffes of Billington, in 
the North Riding, and, of course, related to 
an Abbot and Vicar of Whalley, who were 
brothers.f His mansion seems to have been 
pulled down and converted into farm-houses, 
about the latter part of the seventeenth 
century, when some part of the buildings was 
made a Meeting-house, at which Christopher 
Marshall officiated. At present the dwellings 
with their spacious barns, all built out of the 
old materials, present a melancholy aspect. — 
Taken together with the park walls they 
indicate, however, the consequence of its 
ancient possessor. There is, under the floor 
of a cottage near the principal farm-house, a 
well of vast depth, although report says it 
has been half filled up, and certainly not used 
for above a century. Topcliffe is said to have 
been the residence of Christopher Saxton, the 
celebrated chorographer of Elizabeth's reign, 
who was born at Bramley, and buried at 
Leeds, 31st October, 1587. There have been 
many silver coins of Heniy 6th and 7th foimd 
in Topcliffe fields, most of which are in my 
possession. The views to the North of Top- 
cliffe are delightful, and its being equidistant 
from Leeds. Wakefield, and Dewsbury, 
coupled with this circumstance, accounts for 
its former consequence. 



WOODCHURCH. 



THERE is great reason for the belief that 
those places which are called by the names of 
Woodchurch or Woodkirk, Whitchurch or 
Whitkirk, had Churches upon them at a very 
early period. The very name of Wood 
Church points to Saxon times; and as to 
White Churches, I am of opinion with Dr. 
Whitaker, that they were so called at first 
from being built of stone in opposition, or 
contrast, to the more ancient Saxon Churches 
of Wood which had probably turned black 
from age, when these Stone Churches were 
erected. 

" At Woodchurch, in Morley AVapentake, 
near Dewsbury," says Leland, "was a Cell of 
Black Canons from Nostel, valued at seven- 
teen pounds per ami." 

" William, Earl of Warren, and Ralph de 
Insula (Delisle) and William his son," says 
Burton, " gave Wodechurch to Nostel Priory, 
by the hands of Archbishop Thurstin." 

Before I make mention of Woodchurch, or 
the Churches of Batley and Birstal, as they 
all belonged to St. Oswalds, at Nostel, I 
must (for the introduction of an interesting 
passage) be allowed to give a short account 
of this Priory.* 

41 Where the Paroch Church of St. Oswalds 
is now newly builded," says Leland, "there 
was in Henry the lst's time, a House and 
Church of poor Heremites (Hermits) as in a 
woddy country, until one Radulphus Adlaver, 
Confessor to Henry 1st, began the new 
Monastery of Chanons, and was the first 
Prior of it himself. The building of this 
house is exceeding great and fair, and hath 
the goodliest Fountain of Conduit water in 
that quarter of England. Secundus, Prior a 
postremo (the last Prior but two) fetched I his 
Conduit a mile and above off, and builded an 
exceeding fair kitchen also in the Monastery." 

John Ulolme by his Will, proved in 14G2, ordered his 
corpse to be buried here in our Lady's Quire. 

Robert Savel, by his Testament, proved in 1626, was burled 
here. 

Nicholas reck, of Topcliffe, by Will, proved in 1690, ordered 
his body "to be buried beside the Quire." Bee I'.urton's 
MonasUcon, p, ai3, where other particulars may be found. 



But Burton's narrative most concerns our 
history. " The place in which this Priory is 
founded," says he, '* is said to have been very 
woody and full of game of all kinds; and 
having been chosen, for its retiredness, by a 
few Hermits, they built themselves a little 
Hut, and an Oratory or Church. 

" It happened that King Henry 1st, going 
on an expedition against the Scots, was 
attended by one Ralph Adlave, his Chaplain 
and Confessor, who falling sick was obliged 
to be left at Pontefract ; but, growing better, 
was induced, for the speedier recovery of his 
health, and perhaps by inclination for hunt- 
ing, frequently to ride from thence to this 
part of the country about three miles distant, 
where he found some Hermits, and being 
struck with their pious manner of living.! 
became desirous to be one of their society ; 
but, as that could not be without the King 
his master's consent, he was obliged to defer 
his intention to his Majesty's return, and then 
communicating his desire, the King approved 
of it. 

M Ralph, then set about to found a Priory 
here, and took upon him the habit and order 
of St. Austin, and, by the King's mandate, 
became the fust governor, master, and rector 
of the old place, and of eleven Brethren or 
Monks, the King himself becoming a bene- 
factor by granting them duodecim denarioa 
per day, to be received out of his revenues at. 
York, and several of his Nobility followed his 
example, particularly Robert de Lacy, in 
whose fee (the Honour of Pontefract) this 
place was situated, who granted them the 
wood in which it was built, with two oxgangs 
of land in Hard wick; for which reason the 
Lacy's family always looked upon themselves 
and were deemed as founders. Yet, succeed- 
ing Canons, when they became powerful and 
rich, would have gladly assumed the honour 
of being a royal foundation, because of the 

1 Then Is ft tradition I 
and victualled .>t the Monastic Cell of Woodchurch, which 
no1 unliki ' i provislou consistent with the 

of the middl . '. i . vt it iu Nichols's 

Leicestershire, vol 8, part I, p. Zi t, 



106 



above benefactions of Henry 1st. Ralph died 
in L128. 

"Savordus, third Prior, elected in L153, 
was Bcarce settled in his new office. when 

Henry Lacy, Karl of Lincoln and Baron of 
Pontefract, began to dispute his right to that 
place whereon they were building the Priory, 
being about half a carrucate of land near the 
pool of Nostel, of the fee of the said Henry; 
but when he was about to go to the Holy 
War,} he relinquished all claim thereto for 
himself and his heirs for ever, which were 
confirmed to them by Pope Adrian 4th, in 
L155. 

*• William de Bristal was Prior of Nostel 
iii L291.§ He greatly emiched the Priory — 
increased the number of Canons, and made 
considerable additions to the buildings. lie 
built an Oratory to the Virgin Mary, and had 
the Table of the Passion of Christ at the 
Great Altar done by one Osbert, having 
appropriated the Church of Birstal after the 
resignation of William de Pickering, the 
Hector. 

"In 1312, this William of Birstal was 
succeeded by Henry de Abberford, who, being 
a man of too mild a disposition for his office, 
was drawn into many expenses, and let 
things run to ruin, especially in the parish of 
Baumberg ; nevertheless, he began to erect a 
Choir, to be join to the Church, and left the 
care of it to Robert de Pontefract who, 
through envy, ran the expenses of it to a very 
extravagant height, in order to have the work 
stopped. And upon the visitation of the 
Prioiy, this Henry was accused of simony 
and wasting its substance; but acquitting 
himself of the first charge, he proved that the 
incursions of the Scots destroyed the profits 
of Baumberg, whence a great part of their 
support arose, and that the Cannons likewise 
suffered losses at Burstal, the Scots army 
remaining fifteen days at that place, Bateley, 
Morlcy, and Rothwell ; insomuch that, in that 
year, wheat sold at 2()s. per quarter, and that 
he had bought two hundred quarters. — He 
also proved that on the quarrel betwixt the 
Kin-- and I lie Duke of Lancaster, the latter 
flying, the former pursued with his army, and 
<»nc Robert, called Aquarius. || entered and 

; This may show by what means the Catholic Church 
acquired immense property in early times. 

? 1Mb is the lirst mention of Birstal which I recollect. 

! This is, unquestionably, a misprint for Ejquariua a 
servant of the Royal Household, as appears from Domesday, 
in very early times. The " Equariua " was the King's horse 
breaker, and, perhaps, farrier; and from him lias descended 

to the present (lay the ofticc of MastcrofthelIor.se. This 
Hubert teeuis aL>o to have Lecii a Uoise soldier by bis seizure 



plundered the Prioiy, and took away all their 
horses ; to which such a murrain succeeded 
that they had not oxen and cows to plow 
with ; — the Prior was reduced to such a strait 
as to sell his corrody, and to stand bound 
with the Priory for £500, hoping afterwards 
to be able to discharge the debt; but the war 
continuing, and the Prior wearied out with 
complaints, resigned, after presiding- fifteen 
years, and retired to the Cell, at Wodekirk, 
having a pension of ten marks per annum, 
where he died in nine months after the 3rd of 
June, 1329, and was buried at Nostel." 



Hav 



referred to this extract, as it 



respects Morley in a former page, and having 
here copied it for the relation it has to other 
villages, I would remark that AVoodkirk, 
though but a Cell to Nostel Priory, was yet 
of considerable extent, as is proved by the 
foundations of it extending over the gardens 
and Parsonage premises there. It was sup- 
plied with excellent water by leaden pipes 
from the North West side,* and which have 
been discovered of late years extending from 
the road into these premises. I have in my 
possession a long piece of it, and by its having 
been soldered in the seam, not cast, as pipes 
have been since Henry 8th' s reign, I am 
assured it had been laid much before that 
time. In the valley beloAv the Church are 
still traces of the Friars' fish ponds. 

The nave and chancel of this Church appear 
to me to be much older than those of Batley 
and Birstal, but not so the tower, which is, 
comparatively, modern. The interior, till of 
late, discovered great marks of antiquity, but 
nearly all the fine old carved oak, in seat 
ornaments or screen work, has lately been 
destroyed (as I hear) by cart loads together, f 
Upon these I have seen the letters I. II. C, 
roses, and other various devices not inelegantly 
wrought. There is still the word " Maria "} 
faintly visible in the porch ; but, excepting 
this, and the stone for Sir John Topcliffe, 
and a marble tablet for one Christopher 
Hodgson, hereafter to be noticed, there is 
scarce one other thing remarkable. It may, 
however, be just noted that there is here a 

of the horses for the royal use. No doubt he was a good 
purveyor, or, as we call it at Morley, " Purviller." 

There is near Mr. Wordsworth's farm, at Stump Cross, 
field and well in it, called Conduit, or " Cundy," " Field, 
and " Well," which has certainly supplied either Howley Hal 
or Woodkirk Monastery with water, but I guess the latter. 

t Verifying the old Adage that " Church work is a crij.l ) 
in going up, but rides post in coming down.", 

| The Church was dedicated to St. Mary. See Burton, 
'M\i, but according to Speed, " To the Holy Trinity." — See 
82Q* This, piobubjy, was its last dedication. 



10* 



tablet for John Ayre de Howley, who died 
June 21st, 1706, aged GG. 

In all the Burial-ground at Woodchurch, 
there is not one single lettered stone worthy 
of record, either for antiquity or otherwise. 
The epitaphs are wretched, both as respecting 
poetry, orthography, and taste. They do no 
honour to the memory of the departed, but 
cast a reproach upon those who put them up, 
and those who encourage them. This is 
rather remarkable, as Woodkirk even, has 
not been without its Poet, of whom I shall 
write hereafter. 

There is, however, one very curious stone 
unlettered and of great age. It has, no doubt, 
once laid within the Church, and covered the 
grave of a Monk, although there is a very 
different tradition respecting it. The name 
it has borne for many generations is that of 
" Fryingpan Stone," — partly from the sup- 
posed representation thereon of a fryingpan, 
and partly from the following story : — 

One of the Soothills, of Soothill, near this 
place, being on some account or other, 
enraged at a boy, threw him into a furnace, 
or boiling chaldron. § To ease his conscience 
perhaps, but more probably to expiate his 
crime, he gave to the Church or Religious- 
house here, some grounds, which bear the 
name of furnace or fryingpan|| fields. This 
mode of propitiating the civil as well as 
ecclesiastical powerf is, at least, of as high 
antiquity as the Saxon times, and many 
instances thereof might be adduced, but there 
is one which has a curious bearing upon this 
case, that I cannot refrain from inserting it. 

In a small Chapel, which adjoined the 
Parish Church of Eastry, in Kent, was a tomb 
which, by ancient tradition, was said to con- 
tain the ashes of Ethel bert or Etheldred 
(brothers of Egbert, who reigned in 665,) 
who were murdered by one " Thunner." To 
expiate this murder the whole hundred, now 
called Eastry hundred, was given to the 
Church by Egelred in ( .)7 ( .), and for a purpose 
to which I would particularly call the atten- 
tion of my reader, i. o.—for the support of the 
Monks' kitchen. Now the figure of a frying- 
pan at Woodchurch, and the traditionary 
appellation, "Fryingpan Fields," connected 

§ Dr. Whltaker says it was Sir Thomas Soothill who throw 
a boy into a forge dam. 

II This may l>u a mistake, perhaps.- The fields, I believe, 
are called " Bellatringa." See hereafter. 

' 'J It is very surprising, but I And the punishment of murder 
commuted for a pecuniary forfeiture, so late as even Henry 
$th's reign. See Pennant's Lpndon, p 



with the story of Lord Soothill or Southwell 
(for so the name was originally), strongly 
would incline one to suspect the stone in 
question; and yet when I call to mind how 
frequently the most ancient Crosses appear on 
gravestones, somewhat resembling the frying- 
pan, the weight of evidence, with me, 
preponderates the other way.** 

Although it is said that Reginald Lord 
Soothill gave a bell to Woodkirk, on account 
of the murder, yet all the present bells, of 
which there are three, are comparatively, 
modern. The ancient and curious custom of 
tolling the passing-bell is still kept up here, 
as also at Batley, and perhaps Birstal ; and 
by the number of strokes, one, two or three 
at each interval, it may be known whether 
the deceased be a child, a woman, or man. 

The remarkable custom of this and the 
neighbouring places of doing penance ff lor 
fornication is now quite disused; but such 
sights were not unfrequent in our Churches 
during the middle part of the last century, 
and there are persons still living who have 
seen the white sheet more than once at 
Woodchurch. I could name the persons, and 
have seen one of them, who were thus ex- 
hibited to the congregation here, and I could 
relate some ludicrous stories upon the subject. 
Suffice it here to observe that excommunica- 
tions and penances were considered in a very 
different light only sixty years ago from what 
they would be now. 

Woodchurch, as I observed before, has 
been the residence of a Poet; but, as he 
seems never to have drunk deep at the 
springs of Helicon, and had less of the 
inspiration than the itch for poetry, it is no 
great misfortune that none of his effusions 
remain. His name was John Jackson, better 



known as "Old Trash," which was h 



lick- 



name. He lived at a house oear on the site 
of the present Inn, at Woodchurch, and 
taught a, school at Lee-Fair. He was a good 
mechanic, a stone cutter — land measurer, and 
I know not what besides; but very slovenly 

in his person, and had a head through the 
hair of which, it was thought, a comb did uol 
as often pass as once a year. This gave rise 
to a distich from his scholars, which, being 

[am no* it! led that this curious stone baa been laid 
over :ui ESccleaiaatlc, or uaed for the purpose <>f n Church yard 

ii See Gentleman'a afagasine for 1-1-. p it. but i 
especially Gough or Weevers Fun] Bion The lacl penance 
mi done bj one Joseph Hague, abonf the jreai 1780 At 
ome of ourChurchea there have been later Instances, 



108 



levelled at his poetical talents, annoyed him 
do1 a little. — 

"Old Trash 

Deserves a lash 
I'pon his 15 ks bare, 

For teaching School, 

And playing the Fool. 
And .Never Combing his hair." 

Jackson wrote a poem upon Harrogate ;* 
l»in his mechanical abilities were his chief 
excellency. He constructed a clock, and in 
order to make it useful to the clothiers who 
attended Leeds market from Earls and Ilang- 
ing-IIeaton, Dcwsbury, Chickenley, &c, he 
kept a lamp suspended near the face of it, 
and burning through the winter nights, 
and he would have no shutters or curtains to 
liis window, so that the clothiers had only to 
stop and look through it to know the time. 
Now in this our age of luxury and refinement 
the accommodation thus presented by u Old 
Trash" may seem insignificant and foolish, 
but I can assure the reader that it was not. 
The clothiers of the early part of last century 
were obliged to be upon the Bridge of Leeds, 
where the market was held, by about six 
o'clock in summer, and seven in winter ; and 
hither they were convened by a bell anciently 
pertaining to a Chantry Chapel, which once 
was annexed to Leeds Bridge. — They did not 
all ride, but most of them went on foot. — 
They did not all carry watches, for very few 
of them had ever possessed such a valuable. — 
They did not dine on fish, flesh, and fowl, 
with wine, &c, as some do now. No ! no ! 
The careful housewife wrapped up a bit of 
oat cake and cheese in the little chequed 
handkerchief, and charged her husband to 
mind and not get above a pint of ale at "the 
Rodney." Would Jackson's clock then be of 
no use to men who had few such in their 
villages? Who seldom saw a watch, but 
took much of their intelligence from the note 
of the cuckoo? 

Jackson must, I think, have lived here in 
the latter part of 1lio seventeenth century.f 
At all events he cut the stone in Howley 
Park, which bears date L684, and com- 
memorates (lie oven! of Novison, the high- 
wayman, killing Fletcher upon that spot. 
The only other inhabitant of Woodchurch to 
be noticed is Mary Gomersal, commonly, and 
for a long time, called "Old Ninety," although 
she attained I" the great age of one hundred 
and ten years. 

■• o Harrogate, Harrogate, how weal la thy fame I 

in Summer thou art proud, but in Winter Mum ait tame." 
♦ in- wa burled L0th of May, L704. Woodkirk Krister. 
So that l am mistaken aa to u few yeai 



The value of this living, J considerably 
enhanced by the allotment under the West- 
A rdsley Inclosure Act, now amounts to above 
£200 per annum. West-Ardsley, I believe, 
to something more than this. The Rev. John 
Hepworth is the present Incumbent. 



ADDITIONS TO WOODCIIURCII. 

My last survey of Woodchurch convinces me 
that I have been deceived as to its antiquity 
on a former inspection, and I now consider it 
may be referred to a period much more remote 
than Batley or Birstal Churches, especially in 
regard to its chancel. This part of the 
structure is extremely well worth the visits of 
the antiquary ; upon whom, the thickness of 
its walls and the bays of its windows will not 
be lost. But that which strikes me the most 
forcibly is the original stalls or seats within 
it, which, I cannot help thinking, are older 
than Henry the 8th' s reign, and w T ere the 
Sellse of the Canons ; for the admission of the 
Laity into their "Holy of Holies," is, com- 
paratively, of recent date.§ Not far from 
these, and clustered together as we ever find 
them, either within, or near the entrance of 
the chancel, are the seats of the chief 
families, once residing in the vicinity, and 
still called the " Howley-IIall," the "Top- 
cliffe," the " Westerton," and the u IIaigh- 
Hall Seats." The mention of these prompts 
me to give the inquisitive reader some choice 
and little known particulars relating to our 
ancient edifices. 

To men of high rank, and to patrons of 
livings only, was there formerly the indulgence 
of having fixed seats in a Church ; for the 
parishioners would often dispute about seats, 
two or more often contending for the same 
sitting. To stop a practice so scandalous, 
and that frequently occasioned an interruption 
of divine service, it was decreed in a Synod 
of the diocese of Exeter in 1284 that, with an 
exception to noble persons and to patrons, no 
one should in future claim any seat, but that 

t The yearly value of Woodkirk, before the dissolution of 
the Monasteries, appears to have been £128 5s. 3}d., or about 
£1/282 12s. lo.jd. of our money now. Speed, p. 82G. No 
doubt at the dissolution it was (in common with all similar 
foundations) much undervalued by Henry the Sth and his 
minions. Their motives are very obvious. 

§ This exclusion of the Laity by the Canon, is thus curiously 
expressed In an old verse, which marks the character of 
Popery :— 

" Cancello Laioos prohibet Scriptura sedere 
Ne sibi presumant Christi secreta Videre." ! ! ! 

This is all of a piece with the true blood at Hailes Owen, 
the Virgin's Milk at Walsingham, the Image of Darvel 
Oatheren, or the Image of the Virgin at Worcester ; which, 
when unfrocked, was found to be that of. a Catholic Bishop ! ! ! 



109 



whoever first entered any Church, for the 
purpose of devotion, might choose at his 
pleasure " a place for prayer.' ? j| 

That such contentions arose even so late 
as 1G25, appears by a letter of Bishop 
Buckeridge, of Rochester, which gives some 
insight into other curious particulars. The 
Bishop, in a letter to the Mayor of Rochester, 
the Vicar, and Churchwardens of St. Nicholas, 
says (inter alia.) 

" I know there are certain Knights and 
Ladies and others inhabitinge in other neigh- 
bouring parishes who, out of devotion to the 
preaching of the gospel, resort to your 
Church, who cannot claim any right of seats 
therein ; yet I hold it fit that when they doe 
come they should have places answerable to 
their rank and quality. For myne owne 
p'ticular opinion, I doe not think it fit that 
men and women should be placed in the same 
seats ; neither that women should be allowed 
to sit in the Chauncell which was instituted 
for Clarices. If you think good you may 
disposes of such Knights in the seats in the 
Quier. An it had been fit (for the avoiding 
all contencou about higher roomes in such 
publique assemblies) you had reserved two of 
the principal and highest pews on one side of 
the Church, where such Ladies and others 
who are strangers, might sett." 

By Constitutions of the fourth, ninth, and 
tenth centuries it was ordered that "when 
the Priest sings Mass no woman be nigh the 
Altar, but they st.ind in their own place, and 
that the Mass Priest receive of them what 
they are willing to offer." The exclusion of 
women from the Chancel continued 'till some 
time after the Reformation — probably 'till 
the reign of James the 1st. 

" The morning after Sir Thomas More 
resigned the Great Seal, he went to Chelsea 
Church with his wife and family ; where, 
during divine service, he sal, as usual, in Ike 
Quier, wearing a Surplice." 

So much for the line Choir and Stalls of the 
Black Monks at Woodchurch. The Howley- 
Ilall pew is the only one within this Chancel. 

The Porch with its seats is very old. The 
words u Sancta Maria" are nearly gone. 

There is an ancient well of beautiful water 
below the Burial ground, which still bears the 
name of the wv Lady's Well." 

Just before the Torch is still remaining the 
base of an ancient Cross with the socket for 
II Archaol. vol. 12, p. 101. Vol. 11, p. 388. 



a shaft. The Fryingpan Stone has not 
belonged to it, but is a gravestone. 

The Register begins with the interesting 
year 1G52, and continues throughout the 
Protectorate; and it is worth remarking that 
the marriages, baptisms, and burials extend 
throughout that peaceful and tolerant period 
— a matter not to be regarded as strange, 
however, by those who know that in many 
Churches the service of the Church was per- 
formed as usual at the same time. I hiring 
the "Oliver days," as was before related, 
Christopher Marshall was pastor here. He 
appears to have been succeeded by one 
Anthony Cooper — a " black Canon"* I have 
no doubt, for under date of 1GG2 I find, with 
his signature, the following note upon the 
preceding entries of the Register : — 

"All these I found confusedly registered 
by Isaac Serjeant, sworn register /'// diebus 
Olweri sancti Tijranni, and have digested 
them into this method." 

This entry will cause me to look into the 
history of Anthony Cooper if any record of 
him remains, which, alas! I fear, has never 
existed; and in the absence of such informa- 
tion I shall conclude that he was probably 
one of the many who. in Oliver's time, were 
properly ejected, not for conscience-sake, but 
as "ignorant, scandalous, and insufficient*' — 
able to do little more than mumble a few 
printed prayers and homilies; and whose line 
loyalty was but a mere step-ladder to their 
Church preferment. 

It appears from the Register, that Chris- 
topher Marshall was twice married, and had 
a numerous family. Two of his daughters 
were called by the names of Bathshua and 

Bethia. Generally, Old Testamel names wore 

preferred about this period, and there were 

few or no double Christian names in use — 

amongst the Commonwealth's men. at least. 
Queen Elizabeth (if my memory serves me) 

introduced the fashion alluded to a fashion 
which the Puritans were disinclined to follow, 

probably from its inconvenience — from their 

little respect for the character of that Queen, 
and their high reverence for holy writ. Ar 

all events, their remarkably partiality for 
those sweel and venerable names Joshua and 
Samuel, displays their good taste, if qoI Bense. 

Wodeklrke, aaaCeUof Black Canona, waa founded in 
the reign of Henrj I I See Barton, p 66. "William. Earl 
of Warren, granted to God and the Church of Bl Uarr, at 
Wodechurch, and the Canona there serving God, the land 
wherein the Chun 1, and ail the wood running 

by Belda Bridge and LiduU Bridge, aaal i tlQt Od . of Ma 
rent of Brde Ian Burton, p i 



110 



In this Register, under date of 1G85, is 
recorded the marriage of M Pastor" Elston, 
nun .Merry Pickering, whose father, Captain 
John Pickering, it appears, died in 1099. 

Since writing my account of this Church, I 
find, upon Looking over that of Dr. Whitaker, 
that those scuts in the Chancel-, which I deem 
a remarkable curiosity, and an evidence that 
the Church was "Conventual" as well as 
" Parochial," he regarded as, comparatively 
with the Chancel, modern. I wish Dr. 
Whitaker had been so kind as to have told 
the public for whom, or what class of per- 
sons, he thought them constructed, because I 
should have caught him there, as any person 
will perceive who has read to good purpose 
'what is heretofore stated. f But it is the 
custom with many people to fly off like a 
tangent when they come in contact with an 
obstacle, and to get over it by round and bold 
assertions, instead of grappling with it, and 
by calling forth and applying their anti- 

t I beg the reader will also call to mind how long after 
Henry 8th's time Catholic usages continued in this country : 
and then try to believe, if he can, that the seats in the Chancel 
at Woodchurch are not older than the beginning of the seven- 
teenth century. 



quarian knowledge to elucidate a subject of 
particular interest. 

I have lately discovered that there is a 
field, direct east of the Chancel at Wood- 
church, formerly consisting of two closes, 
and called " Bellstrings." 

This, no doubt, was the ground presented 
by Sir Thomas Soothill for the support of the 
bell which he gave to the Church, as before- 
mentioned. The field adjoining it, on the 
south side, is called " Baker's Royd" or rood, 
probably from a cross having stood thereon. 
And next to this field is another called " Fair- 
steads," on which the fair was held, until one 
Isaac Whitaker, the tenant, contrived to 
throw it out upon the green, where it is now 
held. This is a curious matter, as it serves 
to show how the wake or tide has got 
removed, by little and little, from the Church 
to Lee-Fair Green. Sixty or seventy years 
ago, however, the grand mart for fruit, 
onions, &c, was held on " Fairsteads," and 
multitudes came from towards Iiuddersfield 
to purchase these articles, which then were 
stowed in barns, and sold at booths by lamp 
light in the morning. 



BATLEY 



From Woodkirk we must now pass on to 
Batley, whose Church, of about Henry the 
6th's reign, according to Dr. Whitaker, has 
a fine embattled tower of the same kind as 
Birstal, Guiseley, and many others. 

" Church Towers," says Fosbroke, " were 
the parochial " fortresses.''^ Sir Richard 
Colt Iloare, Hutchinson, and Whitaker, men- 
tion instances of parishioners resorting 1 to 
them in times of danger, and their being 
fitted up with fire places. These machiolated, 
projecting battlements, indeed, seem evi- 
dently designed for purposes of defence during 
an age in which gunpowder and cannon were 
little known, and the science of engineering 
not at all. To me it seems probable that 
those who designed them were not unac- 
quainted with the sweet effusions of the 
psalmist — " I will love thee, Lord — my 
strength ! The Lord is my Rock — my For- 
tress, and my Deliverer. My God — my 
strength — in whom I trust — my Buckler — the 
Horn of my Salvation — and my high Tower." 

This Church of Batley has three bells. 
The one to the west has upon it — " Richard 
Mann, churchwarden, 1G84 — In altissimis 
Deo gloria." The oldest or centre bell, has 
4i Thomas Deighton, G. 0. 1658." The third 
has " Dalton, of York, fecit 1791 — Eternal 
Glory raise to Father, Son, and Holy Ghost." 
The font bears date 1GG2. 

" Robert do Lacy, the founder of the 
ancient Church here, gave the advowson of 
it to the Priory at Nostel, which was con- 
firmed by Hugh de la Val, King Henry 1st 
and 2nd, and Pope Alexander 3rd. In 1253, 
"Walter Grey, Archbishop of York, with the 
consent of the Prior and Convent of St. 
Oswalds, thus ordained and taxed the Vicar- 
age; : namely, That the Vicar for the time 
being should have, in the name of the Vicai - 

1 See vol. 1, p. 108. We often perceive the porches of our 
oldest Churches having chambers over them- in these were 
fire-places: and here, prior to the Reformation, were kept 
images, crucifixes, vestments, books of office, communion 
plate, and vurious writings ; besides, bows, arrows, linlbcrts. 
firelocks, kc. See Clarkson's Richmond, 882 the Life of 
Popo Adrian 4th- and a singular Anecdote in Snted, p. 886, 
Evelyn 'a Memoirs, p. & or 5, Uq. 



age, all the profits of the altarage of the 
Church, and the tithes of corn of Hall-Croft,* 
Scalecroft, Hoveloe, and Finesden, with the 
tithe of hay of the whole parish ; and should 
have a competent mansion provided for him 
by the said prior Prior and Convent, in which 
respect the Vicar shall serve the Church pro- 
fitably and honestly, and shall sustain all 
episcopal and archidiaconal burdens due and 
accustomary." 

The places here mentioned, 1 take to be* 
Havercroft, Scholecroft, Howley, and the 
closes near Howley-Park, called the " Great'' 
and " Little Finsdill." 

The oldest stone in the Church-yard with 
letters, is that east of the porch, on which i^ 
engraved : — 

u In memoriam omnium Joluumium de 
Deighton, de Woodhousham, in Batley, 
quorum Exuviae, spe resurrect ion is, in pulvere 
juxta requiescunt." Below this and under 
three crosses, with some animal in the centre, 
we find — " Johannis I lidecimus successivse 
Oxon posuit, 1642." And again below — 
" Here also was buried the body of Nathaniel 
Booth, of the said AVoodhousham, the 27th 
day of September, 1674." 

One of these John Deightons was ap- 
pointed a Trustee of Batley School, together 
with Sir John Savile, Edward Copley, Mai - 
maduke Elande, and others, by the will of 
the founder, William Lee, of Stapleford, in 
the County of Cambridge, clerk, in If. II. 
The family, I understand, were great iron- 
founders, and accumulated wealth sufficient 
to afford 1 lie eleventh John even a college 
education, after which lie lefl the kingdom 
(on account of the troubles probably) and 
died abroad. Before the woollen trade herea- 
bouts became prevalent (it may jusl be uoted 
by the way) the iron trade was carried on t" 
a great extent nearly all around us; hut the 
business of straw-hat making occupied many 

* Hall-Croft WM, BO doubt, the ipotwhen N(\i-"H killed 
1-ktrlier, and called mi ftoin the ancient Hall OT family Beat 
of the Mirflelds. In like inanm r. and for UM Mine D 
the land on which Atlicltan s Palace stood, at 1'oiltcfrai.t, 
was, in aftertiuii*, culled " Hall -Croft. ' 



112 



people in our villages — Morley, Churwell, 
and Beeston, especially. The foundrymen 
who worked For Deighton lived, mostly, at 
Healey. 

There arc Beveral places in Yorkshire called 
Woodhouseham,t but that which is here 
mentioned is now Staincliffe, the birth-place 
also of the Lee family. It is vexatious that 
we know so little of this benefactor to Batley, 
and still more so as to the Deightons. Who 
would have believed that all the eleven Johns 
would have left us nothing but their name? 
and thai Thomas Deighton should only be 
mentioned as having given a bell to the 
Church during the Protectorate? But the 
once celebrated family of Copley have been 
still more stingy, for they have even refused 
the name to their Sarcophagus.J 

On the south side of the Church is a tomb 
for Thomas Leigh, of Batley, who died 3rd 
December, 1 653 ; under which " John Greene, 
sonne of John Greene of Liversedge, and who 
died the day only next before him," is also 
interred. Prom the recitals in. Batley School 
Foundation Deed, I infer that this Thomas 
Leigh or Lee was brother to the founder. 

Adjacent to this tomb lies " Elliner," Avife 
of Edward Birtby, of Scholecroft (the first 
name in our Morley Trust Deed) and which 
Eleanor died the 15th of June, 1674. 

At the East end of the Church, and near 
the East window, is the tomb of Samuel 
Greatheed, of Gildersome, a son of the Major, 
and who died July 9th, 1721, a3t 77. Also, 
of his sister Susannah, who died 21st of 
October, 1741, aged 89. Also, of Alice, 
another sister, and wife of Mr. John Smith, 
of Gildersome, who died the 17th of December, 
at. b'7 ; and lastly, of his niece Hannah, 
daughter of Nehemiah Wood, of Gildersome, 
who died Nov. 21th, 1761, »t. 58. 

But the stone most deserving of notice of 
any other lies now near the little gate on the 
South sideofthe Church-yard. It represents 

the full-length figure of a man with a, sword 

by his side, his hands elapsed upon his breast, 
and his head resting on a pillow ; but so much 
is it, defaced by I lie injuries of time and 

1 As the etymology of this word is curious, and known to 

w, I will give it " Wbodwose" was a wild man or a 

I outlaw. Sic Axchieol. vol. 21, p. •_'.">■> (!)<• meaning of 
Woodwoseham or Woodhouseham Lb, therefore, evident. I 
cannol accede to the common etymologj . becau «■ at the time 
when these villages took their name, every bamlel in tin: 
kiriK'i"!" was a hamlet of Woodhouses but not of Woodwosea 
p gipsies.) 
! 04 inference U, that very few of the Copleys arc Interred 
here . 



weather (besides having never had so much 
as a letter cut upon it) that it is not easy to 
decide what was the profession of the person 
here represented — civil, military, or eccle- 
siastical. The tradition of Batley respecting 
the person in question, as communicated to 
me by my friend the Rev. Matthew Sedgwick 
and others is, that he was a schoolmaster 
here of uncommon severity, and who, on that 
account, w T as killed by his own scholars with 
his own sword. 

This story I take to be, like most tradition- 
ary tales, made up of error, with a strong 
seasoning of truth. That this person was 
the schoolmaster here I have no doubt, — and 
that he commonly wore a sword, and always 
a dagger, I have no doubt ; for the Ecclesi- 
astics of the early and middle ages were often 
military men,* and the dagger was worn by 
them even in Elizabeth's reign. But the 
Ecclesiastics, or rather the Priests, were not 
only military men but schoolmasters, and the 
only schoolmasters too, down to a late period. 
Independant, indeed, of the fact that they 
monopolized nearly all the science and learn- 
ing of the dark ages — that they w T ere States- 
men, Chancellors, Civilians, Architects, and 
Historians ; (and, of course, the best qualified 
for the work of education) it would ill have 
suited the craft and policy of the Romish 
Church to have allowed the exercise of this 
important trust to laymen. This man in 
stone, therefore, I am well assured, w T as a 
Priest, a Vicar of the Church, and the School- 
master at Batley; and that his gravestone, 
once in the chancel, has been thrown out,f 
upon the rebuilding of the Church in Henry 
the Gtli or 8th' s reign. 

I do not need to be informed that the 
crosier, the paten, chalice, book, and other 
devices, more commonly denote the grave or 
coffin-stone of a Priest, than does the sword ; 
but this emblem of an office formerly sus- 
tained by a deceased person of the sacerdotal 
order, 1 have more than once seen upon 
stones of which there is no doubt. Common 
observers, however, w 7 ill naturally be deceived 
by the representation of a sword, and being 
little conversant with history, our funeral 

1 In the early and middle apes, it was not unusual for 
Ecclesiastics to fight in national broils. Stowe, 703. Archteol. 
\. L2, p. 218 808. Stowe, p. 829, &c. 

Dr. Whitaker says he has seen several instances of a book 
and sword combined upon their gravestones, See History of 
Richmondshire, vol. -J, p. 240, 2(53, 2\H. These stones were 
within the altar rails. 

t See Gent. 'B Mag. 1S0S, p. S7S. More of this when I come 
to Birstal. 



113 



monuments, and other antiquities, will think 
it quite incompatible with the profession of 
a Minister of the Gospel •' of peace." J 

From what I have read in the Archaeologia, 
vol. 2, p. 291, I incline to think that this 
stone has been cut since 1355. Those who 
wish to pursue the subject, may find some- 
thing in Nichol's Leicestershire, vol. 2, part 
1st, pages 21 and 164 ; or in various parts of 
the Gentleman's Magazine, § or in Whitaker's 
lvichmondshire, vol. 2nd, p, 211. 

In one of the aisles of Batley Church, is a 
stone for Mr. John Wyther, of "Maurley," 
who died January 30th, 1695. Of this gen- 
tleman, who was an attorney, I made men- 
tion heretofore. 

Another inscription in the same aisle in- 
forms us that Ames Pearson, late schoolmaster 
of Batley, died the 13th of April, 1710 ; and 
again we are told that Anthony Foxcroft, of 
Purlewell, died the 7th of April, 1671, 
" having had, hj Anne his ivife, one son and 
seven daughters." Now one often hears of 
k - women wearing the breeches" at this day, 
but certainly not in this sense of the expres- 
sion. At all events, the epitaph on this pro- 
lific gentleman is better fitted to excite a 
smile than a tear. 

In the South aisle is a slab for Thomas 
Lofte, clarke to Edward Copley, of Batley, 
Esq., who died the 16th of February, 1674. 
This Edward was he who collected the Hearth 
Tax with Major Greatheed and William 
Batt, Esq. It appears probable that he was 
a Magistrate, or connected with the law in 
some way or other, lie survived his clerk 
about two years. 

As to the tomb of the great Lord Savile, 
as no translation of his epitaph that I know 
of is published, the following, hastily taken, 
is subjoined : — 

"Here is deposited the body of the most 
honourable -John Lord Savilo, of Howley, 
(son and heir of the magnanimous and justly 
celebrated hero, Robert^ Savilo. Knight of 
the Bath) who first married Catherine, 
daughter of the most illustrious Charles Baron 
Willoughby, of fCnaith and Parham, and 
Elizabeth, eldest daughter of the most noble 

I "Think not that lain conic to send Pedce on Earth, I 
came not to send Peace, but a Sword." Mysterious, ami im 
comprehensible Providence I I I how strangely, and truly, has 
the prediction been fulfilled ! 

f See Gent. 'a Mag. 1808, p. 878. More of this when I conic 
to Bintal. 

"i The old Register of Batley commencing In L669, informs 
us that Sir Robert Savile, of Howley, was burled there, May 
the 10th, IOSj. 



Edward Gary, Knight of the Bath, and Mas- 
ter of the Jewel House to Queen Elizabeth ; 
and next married Catherine, relict of Lord 
Pagett, who was sister to Henry Viscount 
Falkland — a faithful Counsellor of Kings 
James and Charles, aud six years Lord 
Lieutenant of the Kingdom of Ireland. By 
these wives he became allied to the greatest 
families in England, and was happy in 
a numerous offspring. After he had, for 
many years, effectually preserved the peace 
of the West-Riding of Yorkshire, being ap- 
pointed Oustos Rotulornm (Keeper of the 
Rolls) and High Steward of the Barony of 
Pontefract, Wakefield, and Bradford, six times 
Member of Parliament for the County, and 
once having his son Thomas, now Viscount 
Savile, joined with him in this arduous and 
honourable situation. His prudence, felicity, 
and dignity being at length fully known, the 
most powerful Prince Charles the 1st created 
him Baron of Pontefract, and give him the 
command of the Castle there, with the title 
and dignity of Constable — appointed him 
.Master of the Rolls, and one of the Privy 
Counsellors. Being advanced in years when 
these dignities were conferred, and almost 
heaped upon him, he left earthly honours for 
those of heaven, the last day of August, 1G30, 
in the 71th year of his age." 

" What sacred Ashes this sad Tomb contains ! 

" In this low Grave what glorious remains ! 

" His Deeds and Fame could once our World surprise, 

'' Now— in a Narrow Cell— lo ! here he lies. 

" Here lies entomb'd a Peer of great renown, 
" A Spirit None but Death could ee'r bring down— 
" The Title shows his Name his Name is Glory, 
" itead but Old John Lord Savile— 'tis a Story. 

" I heat Pompey once, with one step on the ground, 
" Vaunted he could command all Latlum round 
" I low 1'ar this name commanded and made room, 
" Old York will witness to the Age to come. 

" Then rest, great Savile, since thy Seene is done, 
" In death resign- which living wouldst to none, 
" Mere rest— thou hast been glorious in thy days— 
" There can no more be said of 089881*8 praise." 

" This stone was laid by Ann Leigh 
daughter of the above deceased, John Lord 
Savile — done according to his directons 
and appointment." 

Dr. Whitakor. referring lo Ibis inseripton, 
calls it, very properly, a M Vaunting Epitaph." 
[t is not quite clear who composed it. hut if 
his Lordship was concerned therein, it shows 
him to have been (what most of such aristo- 
crats were before thedaysof the Common- 
wealth) a proud, conceited, self-sufficient 
egotisl ; and it proves that with all his pro- 
fessions of seriousness, he was utterly devoid 

<»!' that humility which is the first fruit of 
1 Religion, and lies at the very basis of piety, 



114 



My hopes are, thai tlio tomb only was erected 
" according to his directions and appointment." 

In the Bast window of the Church, in 

-rained glass, is a picture of the Crucifixion, 
with the mother of Christ below tbo Cross, 

and on each side is a human figure, — one of 

Henry 8th, as 1 believe,* the other of Eliza- 
beth, which causes me to suspect that the 
chancel, if not the nave, was built afresh in 
the former reign, especially as this was in the 
second grand rera of Church building'. On 
each side again of these figures are coats of 
arms, on one of which, in very ancient 
characters, I can distinctly trace the word 
"Murfeld" — the other, unquestionably be- 
longs to the Saviles or Copleys. But the 
lions argent of the Mirfields are conspicuous 
enough in the cemetery of the Saviles. 

Near the doorway at the North entrance is 
still remaining, and I hope will long remain, 
though now useless, the ancient poor's box,f 
secured formerly by lock and by padlock and 
staple; having its lid on the underside 
strengthened with an iron plate. The sight 
of such a relic, calling to mind the ancient 

" It was, if I recollect right, very common in the middle 
ages to put our Kings and Queens, in the dress of the times, 
on painted glass ; one on each side the Crucifixion. I have 
an authority for this somewhere, but cannot find it. In this 
instance, the hat of Harry 8th being faded and gone, one is 
puzzled to make out the person intended. 



Church Ales and other benevolent or convi- 
vial usages For supporting the poor and re- 
pairing and decorating the place of worship, 
is apt to excite certain doubts if not regrets.! 
When we think indeed on the despotism and 
devastation, the robbery and plunder, the 
executions and the tortures, the pauperism 
and poor laws, the disunion and wretchedness, 
consequent upon what is called " the Refor- 
mation," and how much our country has 
suffered thereby in regard to literature, its 
antiquities, and Foreign connections, it is 
impossible to believe that it could have fallen 
upon a worse period than when it happened. 
The living of Batley was sequestered in 
16 GO, when the Rev. Thomas Small wood was 
turned out. lie had been army Chaplain to 
Lord Fairfax, and afterwards to General 
Lambert. He afterwards preached in Idle 
Chapel. Upon the passing of the Five Mile 
Act he removed to Flanshaw-IIall, near 
Wakefield, where he died, November 24th, 
1GG7, aged GO. The name of this gentleman 
occurs more than once in the Topcliffe 
Register, where he seems to have worshipped 
with the Congregationalists. He was a 
Cheshire man, and educated at Oxford. 

t See a fine plate of poor boxes in Hone's Table Talk, vol 1, 
p. 747. 

t The poor were formerly relieved by what was raised by 
means of parish plays, ales, and offerings at Church. 



HOWLEY HALL. 




AS IT WAS. 




AS IT IS. 



HOWLEY 



u In this Township," (i.e. Morley) says 
Dr. Whitaker, " is Ilowley (the Field on 
the Hill), which for several generations was 
the magnificent seat of an illegitimate branch 
of the Saviles, though by address, and Court 
favour, they outstript the heads of the family, 
for a time, in honour. It was built upon a 
fine commanding situation, by Sir John 
Savile, afterwards Baron of Pontefract, and 
finished in the year 1590,§ but received con- 
siderable additions from his son, the first 
Earl of Sussex of that name. Camden, who 
saw the house when new, calls it ' (Edes ele- 
gantissimus.' At this time the more ancient 
mansion of the Mirfields, situate about two 
hundred yards to the North- West, was aban- 
doned for a bolder and more commanding 
situation. Part of this is still preserved in 
outhouses and offices. And one part, which 
appears to have been the Chapel, exhibits 
some appearances of antiquity greater than I 
have ever observed in a domestic building, 
and probably not later that 1200/' 

If Dr. Whitaker be right that Sir John 
Savile built Ilowley-IIall, which, we are else- 
where told, cost above one hundred thousand 
pounds,^! he must have been early engaged 
in stone and mortar after the death of his 
father, Sir Robert, who was buried at Batley, 
as the Register shows, in May. 1585. So 
that if finished by 1500, this vast mansion 
was, considering the age, very soon com- 
pleted. The Earl of Sussex may also have 
made additions to it, and he did so, probably, 
between the years 1G4G and 1GG0; for the 
Roman Doric, introduced by Inigo Jones 
about 1G30, is apparent on the Porter's 
Lodge. Some additions were undoubtedly 

§ Lord Burghlcy built his great houses at Theobalds and 
Burghley, about the same period. Sec Ellis's Letters, vol. :;, 
p. 101. New Series. 

"| The young reader must always bear in mind the dif- 
ference in the value of money from its present worth, accord- 
ing to the time In which it is said to have been expended. 
Now, as in the reign of Henry 8th a given sum was worth 
more by nine or ten times than it is now, it may well tie 
Imagined that in the reign of Elizabeth one hundred thousand 
pounds would be an immense sum to lay out in building. I 
cannot refer to Fleetwood's Chronicon Preolosum, but I 
it would not be less than the or six hundred thousand pounds 
of our money at present. 



made to the hall about 1GG1, but I rather 
think from some circumstances, that the Earl 
of Sussex (Thomas) was then dead. I have 
in my possession a stone which came from 
"the ruins," and has abutted against a wall* 
In front is the owl (the family crest), on one 
side a man's head, and on the other a rose 
witli the date 1GG1, and the letters J. V. 
below it. Now this J. V. I take to be the 
initials of one of the Villiers family, into 
which Thomas married. And I shall pre- 
sently make it appear pretty evident that 
Lady Anne Villiers, (afterwards Savile.) his 
widow, was residing at Ilowley in 1663. 
But the latter part of the extract from Dr. 
Whitaker's book is what I have chiefly to 
dilate upon. It is the remains of the ancient 
mansion of the Mirfields, which most attracts, 
in these days, the notice of the rambler. 

No antiquary should visit these ruins with- 
out carefully perusing the capital account of 
Iladdon-IIall, in Derbyshire, by .Mr. King, to 
be found in the sixth volume of ArchsBologia, 
page 358. By the aid of this, and what has 
been told me by the Whitley family, for some 
generations living at the farm-house, I have 
been enabled to form a tolerable idea of the 
seal of the Mirfields. I take it principally to 
have consisted of a large square court, well 
defined by the; site of i he outbuildings in the 
present farm-yard, where wo still see the 
entrance to the Chapel and part of an open 
gallery, once extending through great part of 
the square. Behind this have been, unques- 
tionably, the bed rooms. 

But, to form a more correct notion, the 

reader must imagine the roof ( »f what now 
looks like a porch* taken off, and tin 4 wall 
run up two stories high above the round arch 
of the doorway; for in fact, the Whitloys 
even can recollect the pulling down this pari 

of the building, and putting on of the present 

roof. From them 1 know that there was a 



u in-raving of this in Dr. WhlUktr*! Leeds, vol. 

p. "JIM, plfttl '-'. 



lie 



chamber and belfry, t as it was called, above 
the Chapel, now bo like a porch, and thai the 
way thereto from it was through a doorway 
on the righl side and op a winding staircase, 

thf traces of all which arc distinctly visible. 

Mr. King Bays,! with reference to his plan of 
Eaddon-Hall, — k - K and L are whal 1 call 
the Lady's apartments, from whence is a 
steep staircase near the arch leading to the 
Lady's Chapel" Now 1 think with these 
hints, an attention to Mr. King's plan, and a 
minute examination of what is perceptible, 
the curious visitor may easily discover the 
Chapel, the entrance thereto from the court, 
the Lady's apartments, and entrance to the 
Chapel therefrom. 

There is one thing very curious and striking 
upon entering the porchlike structure, which 
is a large arch directly facing you, and more 
like a window 7 than a doorway. This, how- 
ever, it certainly has been, but the masonry 
being far from strong', and the mansion easily 
entered by this way, the outshot or projection 
with its superincumbent stories may have 
been an addition for better security. Two 
things rather incline me to this opinion. One 
is, that the architecture seems not so ancient 
as the rest of the building. And the other is, 
a manifest contrivance to protect the doorway 
by spears. I am quite surprised how any 
person having the eye of an antiquary could 
overlook so palpable a design as this. Dr. 
Whitaker has favoured the public with an 
engraving of this entrance§ in which the very 
holes for the pike or spear are shown, and 
yet he makes no mention of them, or indeed 
of some other curiosities which I shall notice. 
But whoever will examine the slanting direc- 
tion of these holes will at once disc-oxer the 
reason for it. 

As to the parts where we perceive the 
Saxon zig-zag, or early Norman arch,| this I 
take to be the most ancient part of what 
remains of the house. A small portion of the 
ancient lobby or gallery is still visible, and 

t This, however, J believe to have been not the Chapel, but 
the dinner bell. 

J See Arelunologia, vol. G, p; 858. 

§ See History of Leeds, vol. '2, p. 240, plate 1 The Interior 
archway, it must heie be noted, is much larger than the plate 
represents it 

II Upon very minute Inspection I perceive the two arches 
have belonged to still older buildings than tb086 in which 
they are now walled, especially the zig-zag arch, which has 
evidently been broken and disjointed. The stone also is <|iiit.' 
different from any visible about these parts. The semicircular 
arch displays a number of birds with their heads around the 
moulding, just as I have seen them in a Cburch at York 
These have perhaps belonged to the ancient " lieldkii I, 

hereafter mentioned. 



just as the offices and small rooms to which 
there are various staircases from the court. 
are described by Mr. King, even so we have 
a specimen in the buildings at Howley. 

Before we quit the present farm-yard I 
must notice ;i curiosity the most remarkable, 
almost, that J ever met with — a relic which 
is perhaps unique of its kind, and which has 
puzzled me not a little. It appears to have 
caught the eye of Dr. Whitaker or his 
draughtsman, the late Mr. Thomas Taylor, of 
Leeds, architect; but, by some unaccountable 
accident the drawing has got jumbled in 
among the antiquities of Dewsbury. Here 
again I must refer to the History of Leeds, 
plate 2nd, p. 2 ( .)<S, where it is described as "a 
Tomb of later date" than the sculptures 
above it. 

Now, in the first place, I have to remark 
that this is not, nor ever was, a tomb, or any 
thing like one. Secondly, that it is much 
more ancient than the coffin-stone of Savile ; 
— and thirdly, that no person of our day ever 
saw it, or, perhaps, anything like it, except 
in the straw fold at Howley. — At all events I 
never saw such a thing described by any 
antiquary. 

When Dr. Whitaker and his draughtsman 
saw this stone, it lay square with the modern 
and common stone below it, nearly as it is 
seen in their engraving. It had long been 
used in connection with that as a watering 
trough for cattle, but the lower stone is quite 
of a different kind, and has not, perhaps, 
been taken from the Quarry quite sixty 
years. 

It is painful to discover blemishes and care- 
lessness in the productions of men of real 
talent and genius ; but, as an antiquary, I 
cannot be faithful to my trust in neglecting 
their oversights, and concealing their ab- 
surdities. Had my predecessors only just 
taken the trouble to inspect the under part of 
their " Tomb," or stone trough, and examine 
its interior, their illusion would have vanished. 

This remarkable stone, which is hollow, is 
wrought on its three sides, and two of the 
devices are given in Dr. Whitaker's engrav- 
ing. I am not so much of a botanist as to 
say what the plant is which has been engraven 
on the one side,l but it strikes me that the 
Saxon "^-n/~v" either forJMurfield or (as I 
think) For Maria, is to be seen on the other 

*\ An able architect and tolerable antiquary tells me it is 
the parsley leaf which Is on one side On the bottom appears 
the oak leaf, 



n 



side. The dimensions of its cavity are two 
feet six inches in length, one foot three inches 
in breadth, and eleven inches in depth, which 
leaves two inches and three quarters for the 
thickness of the stone. From these premises 
the antiquary will perceive that it has stood 
upright in its original situation, and that the 
supposition of a Tomb is preposterous. 

But what has this stone been ? or for what 
purpose hollowed out? Aye "there's the 
rub," and to give an answer to the question 
requires some portion of the knowledge of a 
Pegge — a Gough — a Fosbroke, and some 
portion of the perseverance and prying 
curiosity of a Ilutton. 

It is much easier to determine what this 
stone has not, than what it has been. There 
clearly lias been a stone with some finial 
about it, and another stone below it. 
which, together perhaps, may have formed 
the head of a Cross;* and within the 
cavity, if this be so, has been an image of 
the Virgin or a crucifix. That something has 
been fixed upright in this tabernacle there 
seems no doubt, for there are two holes 
exactly correspondent at top and bottom, two 
inches each in diameter, palpably for the 
introduction of an iron bar or shaft, and to 
which, the image being fastened, may have 
been secured. The very course indeed of this 
rod is perceptible from top to bottom of the 
interior, and probably, before the holes were 
plugged up and it were wrought into a 
trough, there were other vestiges. All that 
I can learn from the old tenants at Howley 
is, that they remember some stone or two 
corresponding, apparently, with the one in 
question, but that they were broken in pieces 
many years ago. 

•■ Neither the exact period of the decease 
nor interment of Thomas Savile, first and last 
Earl of Sussex of that name," continues \)v. 
Whitaker, " is known ; but after his decease, 
Howley was little frequented by the Brudenell 
family, who succeeded to the estate by mar- 
riage; and about the year 17:50 an agent, 
named Christopher Eodgson, prevailed with 
the then Karl of Cardigan, by false repre- 
sentations, to give orders for the demolition 
of this magnificent fabric, which was carried 
into execution with the exception of some 
vast fragments or massy groul work at the 

Another thin- proving it the In ul of a Cross, is certain 
holes wrought on the sides for the reception of ornaments, 
valuables offered to it perhaps, or, *t all events, for ever 
greens, garlands, etc., wherewith Buch I n inciently 

decked out. 

Bee plate of Headlngton Cro i, Oxfordshire, in the Gentle 
men's Magazine, vol 86, pa| 



angles, the rest was blown up with gun- 
powder. Eere tradition reports thai Rubens 
visited Lord Savile, and painted for him a 
view of Ponte nbjecl altogether un- 

worthy of such a pencil. And here Archbishop 
Usher condescended to assume the disguise of 
a .Jesuit, in order to try the controversial 
talents of Kobert Cooke, the Learned Vi<- a r of 
Leeds. On the demolition of Howley-Hall, 
the wainscot was sold about the country, and 
in tiie year 17-S7 many rooms remained in 
Wakefield fitted with the wainscot brought 
from Howley, and bearing date L590. The 
Presbyterian .Meeting-house, at Bradford, was 
also fitted up with the wainscot brought from 
this place." 

Thomas Viscount Savile, Earl of Essex, 
being, for obvious reasons, a prominent 
character in my history, I have endeavoured 
to trace him, but in vain, to the period before- 
mentioned. An ancient document in my 
possession proves him to have been living in 
1651, and his handwriting in 1650 conveys 
the idea of his being then an aged man. 
Indeed, as lie was, eaily in James's reign, in 
Parliament with his father for Yorkshire, and 
(if my memory serves me) about 1615, gave 
land to Headingley Chapel, he must have 
been a good age in 1650. That he was dead 
in 1GG3 I think appears from the mention of 
Lady Sussex as then at Howley- 1 Tall, in 
Ralph Gates's account of the w - Farnley Wood 
Plot." I know that he presented Roger 
Awdsley to the Vicarage of Batley, in 1685, 

and that the next Vicar, .losj ;l s liroadhead. 
was presented by Edward Copley. Esq. ; but 

this proves nothing, for that living was pre- 
sented to alternately by those two great 

families, as it now is by their successors, the 

Earl of Cardigan on the one hand, and Lord 

Grey de Wilton on the other. 
There is great inaccuracy in Dr, Whitaker's 

account of this family, in various respects, 

and a prodigious skip from about the middle 

of the seventeenth century to the demolition 

of llowley-llall, in L780, which it shall be 
my endeavour to amend. In the first place, 
ii appears that Thomas Savile was not "the 

last Karl of Sussex of that name." for he left, 

a son James, and. perhaps, a daughter 

Prances; and that this .lames was Karl of 

Sussex, I state on the authority of the Batley 
Register, the .MS. collections ; ,i Leeds, and 
of .Mi-. Gough. — The firsl informs us that 
this .lames was living at Howley in 1671. 
and was buried at Batley on the i m, of 



118 



I 1 »bei in thai year, — ;i son of his called also 
James, having been interred there on the L6th 
of Jul j preceding. The nexl authority states 
that •• Francis. Lord Brudenell, died in the 
life-time of his father, having married Frances 
only daughter of dames Savile, Earl of Sussex 
— that she left him a widower in June, 1695 — 
that by her lie had two sons George and 
James, and three daughters, and that George 
died duly the 5th, 1732." — And lastly, Mr. 
Grough says, that " James, the last Earl of 
Sussex of this family, dying' without issue, 
the estate came to Sir Robert Brudenell, who 
had married his sister Frances." 

I cannot reconcile these conflicting pedi- 
grees, but they show how little Dr. Whitaker 
knew of this family, and their residence at 
Howley, and that the Brudenell family did 
not succeed to the estates upon the death of 
Lord Thomas as he intimates. It seems even 
doubtful whether the Lady Frances, whom 
one of the Brudenell' s married, was his 
daughter or his granddaughter ; but, from her 
dying in 1G95, and leaving five children, I 
should infer the former. Lord Thomas, how- 
ever, had a sister of this name who married 
Dr. Bradley, Kector of Ackworth, and lies 
buried there, and this may have occasioned 
the mistake. Be that as it may, there are 
grounds for believing that after the death of 
James, Earl of Sussex, in 1671, Howley was 
little frequented by the Brudenell family. 

" Sir John Savile," proceeds Dr. Whitaker, 
" the builder of this house, who lived to enjoy 
his own work forty years, patronised the 
town of Leeds, where he became the first 
Alderman under the original charter, and 
seems to have been held in great respect. As 
to his political life, one character may be 
read in his vaunting epitaph, and another, in 
the accounts of his impartial contemporaries. 
As Custos Rotulorum and a Magistrate, his 
conduct was so selfish and arbitrary as to 
produce a letter of complaint against him 
from Lord Sheffield, Lord President of the 
North, to Lord Ellesmere (Chancellor). In 
consequence of this, and in order to avoid the 
disgrace of being put out of the Commission, 
he humbly besought the Chancellor to 
him of the charge he held in the Commission, 
his resolution being to withdraw himself 

where he might more peaceably pass his life 

in expectation of a better — a 61 of seriousness 
which duos doI appear to have conic upon 
him till his misconduct was grown so uoto- 
rious thai he could no Longer hold his place. 



The Chancellor's indorsement on this letter is 
rough and authoritative. There is nothing 
but his own fault, and his disorderly and 
passionate carriage of himself, ill-befitting a 
man of his place and calling, that draws upon 
him these troubles; and. therefore, I com- 
mend him in making this suit. 

"After this disgrace, however," says the 
Doctor, "he lived fifteen years longer not 
quite so mortified to the world as he professed, 
and at one time, perhaps, intended to be; for 
in this interval lie made his peace with the 
Court, during which he had many contests 
with Sir Thomas Wentworth. At length 
Wentworth's sudden advancement sent him 
(as Lord Clarendon says), a poor despised old 
man, into the country, where he died not long 
after." 

In a foregoing page I have stated that it 
was the superior talents and learning of Sir 
John Savile, and his great popularity as a 
leader in the House of Commons, which raised 
him into consequence and power, rather than 
into favour in the Court of James ; and with 
this narrative even that of Hume* agrees ; 
yet Dr. Whitaker would have it believed that 
his promotion was gained only by address 
and sycophancy. — Knowing that this dis- 
tinguished Nobleman was a Puritan, or of the 
Presbyterian party, and, of course, a man of 
liberal principles as parties then went, he 
would needs degrade his reputation, as plainly 
appears from the acrimony of. the foregoing 
passage, where, instead of the words " impar- 
tial contemporaries," he ought to have written 
inveterate enemies. These people, in fact, to 
say the least of them, were a set of intriguers 
and political weathercocks, who, while Sir 
John was usefully serving his country as a 
Magistrate, and enriching our neighbourhood 
by his endowments, his patronage, and his 
munificence, were seeking nothing but their 
own advantages. 



The charges against Sir John Savile of 
selfish and arbitrary conduct are so general 
and indefinite that one can form no opinion of 
their justice now. All that Ave can say of 
them is, that they were preferred under a 
reign in which the immortal Bacou was 
condemned for corruption — that they were 
countenanced] by such men as Clarendon, 
himself convicted of "arbitrary ami tyrannical 
proceedings in his office as Chancellor," and 
banished the country; and by Strafford, 

" Vol 6, p. 117, 



119 



whose arbitrary principles and spirit con- 
ducted him to the scaffold. I do not allude 
to the crimes of these culprits by way of 
palliation for our great countryman, if really 
guilty, but the censure cast upon him conies 
with a bad grace from people of their cast, 
and who, blind to their own misdeeds, can 
only see them in a political opponent. But 
the indorsement of Lord EUesmere does not 
seem to refer to any corruption, ©r illegal act, 
committed by Sir John, but rather to some 
ebullitions of passion in the exercise of a 
thankless, a troublesome, and, perhaps, 
gratuitous office ; and discovers an infirmity 
common to the best of men, and indicative of 
a forgiving temper rather than otherwise. In 
short, the "head and front" of Sir John's 
offence is, that he was a Presbyterian, and 
opposed to despotism. 

" According to the same noble historian," 
says Dr. Whitaker, "his son was one of the 
most faithless of men, having been the instru- 
ment of inviting the Scots by means of a 
forged letter, purporting to be signed by 
many of the nobility, to invade his native 
country. 

" The two great houses of the Saviles are 
reduced to a few fragments, but the principal 
stock would never have made their mansion 
a sacrifice to indignant and high spirited 
loyalty, which was the fate of that at Thorn- 
hill. Howley, however, was held for the 
king, and stormed and plundered by the 
other party, which occasioned the following 
memorial from its owner : — 

" Thomas Lord Viscount Castlebar in Ire- 
land — his case — 

" The Queen's Majesty being advanced and 
gone from the city of York, into the Southern 
party, William, then Marquis of Newcastle, 
being Commander-in-Chief, and General of 
his Majesty's forces in these Northern parts, 
marched his army to Pontefract; and From 
thence, in the beginning of Juno, 1643, he 
advanced towards Howley-House, then a 
garrison for the Parliament under Sir .John 
Savile, of Lupset, near Wakefield, Knighl. 
with one Yates, his Captain-Lieutenant, an 
old soldier as was pretended; but having 
planted two great pieces of cannon againsl 
and played with them for some days, (he 
garrison not being provided of necessaries 
and accommodations, surrendered up the 

house, on the 22nd of dune. Sir John and 

the soldiers, whereof fates were very Bore, 

blasted and spoiled of gunpowder, wen- sent 



prisoners to Pontefract Castle, where, for 
some time, they c mtinued, and the house 
being well furnished with household Btuff and 

goods to a good value, belonging to the 
owner thereof, Thomas Lord Savile, the said 
goods and household stuff were all pilfere I 
and plundered by the soldiers on both parties, 
and sold to the country people, whereup m 
the Lord Savile applies himself to the King 
and Counsel, at Oxford. 

" But this proved of little service to him. 
"At the Court, at Oxford, 

July 26, 1012,. 

"This day, upon consideration of Lord 
SavhVscase concerning his goods at Howley- 
House, in the County of York, and the state 
of the war now raised, his Majesty thought 
fit, by the advice of his Privie Counsel and 
Counsel of Warre, to declare that this i^ a 
warre raised by rebels, and not by enemies; 
and that rebels, though they are had subjects, 
yet continuing, by the indulgence of the Laws, 
subjects, and to be tried by the laws as sub- 
jects of the land, cannot, by any art of theirs, 
take away the property or right of any other 
subject, more than trespassers and felons 
would in a time of peace. — And. therefore, 
his Majesty hath thought lit to declare that 
whatever goods during the present rebellion 
have been, or shall be, taken by rebellious 
armies from any good subject s, and shall be 
retaken by any of his Majesty's forces, ought 
to be restored to the first owners, whereso- 
ever and howsoever the same shall be found, 
and the true Owner may take the legal 

remedy for the same. But in such case 
where goods, redeemed from robbers and 

rebels, could no1 possibly he known to be 

other than rebels' goods, there il is conceived 
equitable that some recompence should be 

given to the person that redeemed the same. 

and thai his Majesty be judge thereof." 

So much has been said of Lord Thomas 
Savile and the forged letter in a former page, 
that 1 shall now only address myself to the 
latter paragraph of Dr. Whitaker. It needs, 
in fact, some explanation, for what with an 

error (perhaps of the press), an infusion of 

bombast, and a perplexity of thought n\<^\ 

singular, it i^ scarcely intelligible to any 
reader., 

•• Howley," says Dr. Whitaker. "was held 
for the King." — Howley, says history,* and 
the foregoing narrative, was held tor the 
Parliament. — " Howley," says the former, 



120 



"was Btormed and plundered by the Repub- 
licans." — Howley, says the latter, was 
stormed and plundered by the Royalists. — 
"The injuries inflicted by the former," says 
the Doctor, " occasioned the Kail's memorial ;" 
but that the violence of the King's party 
occasioned it needs no illustration. 

It docs not appear by what means, or 
whether with the privity and consent of the 
Karl of Sussex or not, Sir John Savile, of 
Lupset, took possession of Howley-Hall.* It 
is sufficient for my purpose that it was held 
by Sir John, under Fairfax, and. of course, 
for the Parliament, both before the Royalist 
army stormed and plundered it, and after- 
wards; for, '■•when the attack upon Wake- 
field was resolved on by Sir Thomas, an 
order was issued by him for a party of a 
thousand foot, three companies of dragoons, 
and eight troops of horse, to march from the 
garrisons of Leeds, Bradford, Halifax and 
llowley.t It seems, in fact, to have fallen 
into the hands of both parties, but that it was 
ever invested, or formally besieged, and 
plundered by the Parliamentarians there is no 
evidence. In the instance before us Lord 
Savile's remonstrance tells us that the Marquis 
of Newcastle's army assaulted and plundered 
this mansion. His Lordship, it must be recol- 
lected, was at this time in the Royalist train 
at Oxford — was still among the "life and 
fortune men " at York, and had but the year 
before been flattered for his obsequiousness 
with the cheap gewgaw of an empty title. 
Against w T hom, therefore, was his remonstrance 
made ? and from whom too was a compensa- 
tion sought? Not, certainly, against the 
Parliamentarians, for that would have been 
ridiculous indeed! — Not, surely, from the 
party he stood opposed to, for that would 
have been absurd indeed ! No! no! It Avas 
from the "high spirited" Loyalists who visited 
his noble house on their march to Bradford, 
or rathe] 1 from their royal master, that this 
"indignant" Noble, this " life and fortune" 
man of the seventeenth century demanded 
satisfaction and restitution. 

Dnl Sussex was rewarded, in this instance, 
rery man deserves to be who will not art 

Lord Fairfax, in a letter dated May 81st, L648, states, 
that (in tin- preceding Saturday, be !t to be drawn 

(mt of the garrisons in need*, Bradford, Halifax, and iio« 
,,,,,,- i,,, i e, foot, and dragoniers, in all about I BOO, and 
bad sent then under his son's command against Wakefield." 
From this it should seem that Lord Sussex had no concern 
uni, the occcupation <>t Howley by Sir John. Sec Drake's 

York, p. I.,... 

t See Vicar's Parliamentary Chronicle, p. DJ7. Watson's 
UUury of Halifax, pu^c 08, ct al. 



up to the illumination of the age, and the 
spirit of the times in which he lives, accord- 
ing to the dictates of his conscience, and the 
voice of his country. In lieu of recommence 
he received a hollow, sarcastic, Jesuitical 
reply, containing in it far more of reproach 
and mockery than of conciliation and pity — 
ait answer, in short, quite in character with 
the principles and spirit of those cavalier 
people to whom he had lent himself — a tool. 

I shall not trespass upon the reader's 
patience in the consideration of a case in 
which it was so difficult to ascertain whether 
the goods of a Royalist, redeemed from 
" robbers and rebels," (as the Parliament of 
England and their illusti'ious Generals were 
called) could possibly be known to be other 
than " rebels' goods," — that is needless — the 
equivocation and insolence of the reply are 
upon record, and the sequel is known. 
Howley, however, was held for the Parlia- 
ment, but battered with cannon balls, stormed, 
and plundered by " indignant and high spirited 
loyalty." 

This attack upon Ilowley-IIall was occa- 
sioned as follows : — The Marquis of Newcastle 
whose head- quarters were at Pontefract, 
hearing that Lord Fairfax, with a very 
inferior force, was at Bradford, resolved to 
attack him ; and on his w^ay, it seems, he 
halted before the house, either for refreshing 
his troops, or for fear of being annoyed by 
the garrison and country people upon his 
rear ; for, it is a matter of notoriety, that the 
latter generally detested the Royalists* in 
these parts, and did them all the injury 
imaginable on their marches. AVhatever 
Newcastle's motive Avas. it induced him to 
deviate apparently from the main road, and 
the shortest to Bradford, and he probably 
went by Alverthorpe, Kirkhamgate, and the 
skirts of Soothill Wood. There were at that 
period, doubtless, few fences beyond the park, 
so Unit, in June, he would have no difficulty 
in bringing up his (wo cannon, "Gog" and 
" Magog" (as they were called), before the 
East and South East sides of the Hall. 
These, 1 presume, were what are called eight 
pounders, from a, cast iron ball in my posses- 
sion which weighs eight pound tw r o ounces, 

Sllngsby even, the " Loyalist," complains of their coming 
among bis soldiers ami snatching their swords from their 
sides, and hats from their beads, in the vicinity of Knares- 
borough. What a shame it is to attempt disguising the 
general feeling <>f the people <>f England, as many writers do 
when referring to the Civil War.— That is a line cause indeed 
which requires not only the propagation of falsehoods, but 
the suppression of important fact. 



121 



and was found some years ago deep in the 
hill below the ruins. 

Before we proceed further it may be as 
well here just to give an idea of this interest- 
ing spot, in 1643, — which, as near as I can 
describe it, was as follows: — On the Wesl 
side of the hall was a line bowling-green — on 
the North, and probably North East, was the 
parlour garden. On the AVoodchurch side 
there was* a cherry orchard, and many of the 
trees were there eighty years ago. The 
kitchen garden — strange to tell ! was on the 
South, and still more singular it is that the 
kitchens even were on this, most pleasant, 
Bide of the mansion. And here, by the way, 
1 would remark that horticulture was in a 
low state in this age. There were gooseberry 
trees growing near the ruins formerly, but 
quite exhausted — of these I took cuttings and 
cultivated the trees well some years ago. but 
the fruit was miserable. 

The only notion of the edifice itself now t<» 
be gathered is from engravings presented by 
the late Karl of Cardigan to a few of his 
principal tenants, and taken, it is said, from 
an ancient painting in the family collection. 
From this imperfect view even it appears to 
have been a line ancient halled-house. con- 
structed with a strict regard to proportion 
and regularity, with a projecting centre on 
the South side, ornamented with columns, 
capitals, and mouldings. The whole seems 
crowned with battlements, and the cupolas, 
surmounted by weather-cocks, rise among the 
cliimnies with Eastern grandeur. One cannol 
indeed behold even this poor sketch and 
the beautiful wrought stone now dispersed 
through Morley, Birstal, Batley and all the 
neighbouring hamlets, wit hour a feeling of 
melancholy, mingled with indignation, at the 
villany and apathy which has deprived us of 
an object most interesting to posterity, from 
a large association of id. 

Such was Ilowley-IIall f when it was 
besieged and battered for several days 
together by the Royalists, who being, how- 
ever, bad engineers, did it far less injury than 
they designed. Some of their balls, however, 
as tradition reports, destroyed part of the 
tracery of the windows and drove in the 
mullions. One of them, especially, passed 
through the gallery, breaking the branch of 

t Howlcy Hall was sixty yards square- had two gateway! 
on the West Bide, and a Squaro Court, nearly in the centre, 
Which gave light to the cellars. From this were pa-sages to 

its three entrances oa the North, West, ttU d. South sides. 



a pear tree, and narrowly missing some of 
the family. Had the guns been more elevated 
than they were, generally, the mischief had 
been great ; but happily almost all the shot 
were afterwards found in the hill below. 

The resistance made by Sir John Savilo 
against a large army provided with every 
thing, while he. with a trifling force, wanted 
both cannon and provisions, was brave indeed. 
The greater number of his men, I believe, 
were raw soldiers, menial servants, and 
volunteers out of this clothing district, who 
generously stepped forth to protect a man- 
sion, the scene of old English hospitality 
during two generations of the Saviles at least. 
.Many of the pooresl families in Morley, 
Batley, Havercroft, &c., were supplied with 
broken victuals by their bounty.! and each 
village had ir- turn here. In fact as industry 
and merit were encouraged by this family, 
there were many who owed it a debt of 
gratitude, and all were interested in their 
behalf. The resistance may. therefore, be 
well supposed to have been of the most 
determined kind, and it is proved to have 
been so by the irritation of the Marquis of 
Newcastle, and his orders aa given in the 
succeeding extract. 

*-0n the storming of Howley-House," 
says Dr. Whitaker, " an officer had given 
quarter to the Governor, contrary to the 
Earl of Newcastle's order, and having been 
rebuked by him for his humanity, he under- 
took to execute his orders ex post facto; but 
Newcastle said ii was ungenerous to kill a 
man in cold blood." 

There is here, again, a mixture of truth 
and error in this tradition. That Newcastle 
issued these orders 1 doubt, but that he durst 
have seen them executed I have no doubt, for 
Cromwell was, at this period, comparatively 
little known. Sad that been otherwise, BO 
atrocious a purpose would never have crossed 
his mind, for had the hair of an Englishman 
been hurt in this way. but a few years after- 
wards, and his Earlship had fled to the other 
side the globe, the " Protector" would have 
found bim.§ One man. however, was killed 

l Archbishop Parker*! mode of keeping hospitality may be 
seen in Allan's History of Lambeth, p. '1'1\ ; or Gcnt.'r Mag. 
vol. ;i7, part 1, p. 527. 

The same usage appears to have been kept up at Nostel by 

f ■ • Wyim family, so lately as the early part of last century. 

Me ii- of Mi Catherine Cappe. Auo. at skcthugton, in 

Leicestershire See Note i<». in Nicholas M vol. pan 1, 

It don tless irai common, as it was necessary, aftct 
the demolition of the lionasterlaa 

• Ib'i '.vuiwHiT^aUh, rol 8) p 



122 



in oold blood, "ii opening the gates of 
Kowley-House, and he was the porter of 

lodgi — one William Smith — and from his 
gTeal grandson, once living at Lee-Fair, my 
ace unt comes. It appears, therefore, that it 
was for killing, and not intending to kill, 
that the officer was reproved; and we have 
here an instance how greatly a matter of fact 
may become distorted in the course of a 
century, without any bad design on the part 
of the relators. 

Having done with the siege of EEowley- 

Ilall. 1 would here just drop a word or two 
respecting Dr. Whitaker's great author. Lord 
Clarendon; and passing- by what the reader 
may find in such admirable books as Brodie's 
•• View of the British Empire." and Godwin's 
••History of the Commonwealth," I would 
just state the opinion of Lord Orford respect- 
ing him. 

Having-, very justly, lamented that "two 
of the greatest men in our annals* should 
have prostituted their admirable pens— the 
one to blacken a great Princef — the other to 
varnish a pitiful Usurper,"! Lord Orford 
adds — •• It is unfortunate that another great 
Chancellor should have written a history with 
the same propensity to misrepresentation, I 
mean Lord Clarendon. It is hoped no more 
Chancellors will write our history until they 
can divest themselves of that habit of their 
profession — apologising for a bad cause."§ 
Consistently with this Bishop Burnet also 
writes thus: — "I do not," says he, "intend 
to prosecute the wars. I have told a great 
deal relating to them in the Memoirs of the 
Dukes of Hamilton. — Rushworth's Collections 
contain many excellent materials ; and now 
the Earl of Clarendon's first volume of the 
History gives a faithful representation of /ho 
beginning of the troubles, though writ in 
favour of the Court, and full of the best 
excuses such ill things were capable of."|| 

About oik; hundred yards from the farm- 
house at Ilowley, on the West side, and near 
the foot-path to Morley, lies a. small stone of 
cylindrical shape, bearing this inscription — 
k - Iloiv Nevison killed Flecher, L684." This 
stone has certainly been here above seventy 
years, but how much longer is unknown, h 
was cut and engraved by JohD Jackson, the 
schoolmaster of Lee-Fair, commonly called 

Sir Thomas More and Lord Bacon are here alluded to. 

Bui i i not to be understood at a single perusal 

t Biohard8rd. ! Benry7th. B " Hlstorio Doubts," p, 68. 

Ii Own Times, vol. I, p, 48, 



••Old Trash." \)\\ Whitaker has quite over- 
looked this stone, and I cannot give as good 
an account as might be wished of the cir- 
cumstance to which it relates. However, I 
can, perhaps, give a better than any person 
now living. 

After the death of Lord .James Saville, in 
1671, or, at least, after the marriage of Lady 
Frances, Howley, as I before stated, was 
little frequented by its great owners. The 
house was occupied by three families — Ayres, 
Ray or Kaye,l and Procter, I believe, were 
their names. I write one of the names Ray 
or Wray, because this is the name transmitted 
by tradition, but Kaye appears more likely to 
be right. But. waiving' trifles, one Janson 
occupied the lodg-e, while one Fletcher kept 
an alehouse where the chief tenant now T lives. 

About the latter end of Charles the 2nd's 
reign, the robberies of Xevison had become 
so frequent and daring, and the danger of 
apprehending him was considered so great 
that, as in the case of Turpin, in 1737,** few 
persons w T ere willing to attempt it; and the 
Government was obliged to offer a consider- 
able reward for securing him. Allured by the 
offer, this Fletcher, calling to his aid a 
brother who lived where Cross-Hall now 
stands, resolved to entrap the robber on his 
next visit. It was not long ere the oppor- 
tunity offered, for Nevison was drawn hither- 
ward by many motives. Here was a lonely 
spot, near a large wood, many fairs of 
different kinds, many cross roads, at a con- 
venient distance from Pontefract (the place of 
his nativity) and of his father's abode. But 
Nevisou was attracted by another influence, 
the most powerful in the human bosom. Like 
the formidable Samson, he had at Dunningley 
his '-Delilah," — a married woman, I believe, 
wdiose offspring and descendants (whether 
improperly or otherwise I k - wot" not) were 
long- honoured with his name. Certain, how- 
ever, it is that Nevison Avas often travelling 
to Dunningley and Howley. Soon after his 
last visit, however, the Fletchers contrived to 
overcome him, and locking up in their stable 
(he wonderful animal on which he rode, they 
fastened her master in one of I he upper rooms 
of the outshot or porch (before described) in 
(he farm-yard. 



•i one Mrs. Kaye, daughter of Batt, of Oakwell. Hall, and 
■ : wife of Mr. John Kaye, <>f Gomersal, died at Eowlej 
Hall, in L780, Leavings son Robert and daughter Martha, who 
in L766 was in her L05th year. These were all of Ilowley. See 
Watson'^ Halifax, p. 189. 

See Oentleman's MugaKine, 1737, p. 43S< 



12; 



But Nevison soon forced his way through 
a window, and, making a spring, lie alighted 
upon a heap of manure which was just under 
it. ami took his course towards Morley. An 
alarm, however, was soon given, and 07.' 
the Fletchers pursued him closely on . 
Being a remarkably athletic man — relying 
upon his strength, and probably fancying he 
had disarmed his visitor, he called upon him 
to surrender himself. Nevison, on the other 
hand, attempted to argue, and reproached the 
other with his treachery and ingratitude ; but 
the great reward was predominant in the 
mind of Fletcher, so that he grappled with 
his customer, and in the struggle which 
ensued the robber fell undermost. Finding 
himself again overcome by force, Nevisou had 
recourse to a "bosom friend" — a short pi 
which firing at the heart of Fletcher he rolled 
from his body a lifeless corpse. 

Such was the account which in my boyish 
days I received from people seventy or eighty 
years old. and such was the account of their 
forefathers. It was, for the most part, con- 
firmed to me about fourteen yen- ago, by 
the narration of old Thomas Robertshaw, of 
Soothill Wood-side, whose ancestors were 
park and gamekeepers* t 1 the Saviles, with 
only a disagreement as to the weapon where- 
with the murder was committed. This sturdy 
veteran relying upon the accuracy of his 
grandfather, who knew Nevison, would have 
it that the instrument was a short dagger, 
••shaped (as he expressed himself) like a 
cobbler's 'elsin' "i- -b-idkin;' " and this was 
also told me as the tradition by people at 
Sandal and at Wakefield. "Jusl at the top 

of the park," said old Robertshaw, "my 

grandfather told me that Nevison thrust the 
elsin all c >vered with blood into the straw 
thatch of a cottage which .-tool there, and 
where it was found afterwards." However 
this may be, it i- certain that by the key of 
the stable in Fletcher's pocket, or others 
he regained bis mare,t and rode to York at a 
rate so increpibly swift, that upon his trial 
afterwards he established an alibi, by proving 
himself to have been upon the Bowling-Green 

there at an early hour of the same day. This, 

" See also the depositions touching the " I'.irnh . 
Plot," in Whitaker 'a Leeds, from which it appears they were 
park-keepers. 

3ee the account of Kevison's leap Dear Ferrybridge. 
Gentleman's Magazine, 1820, p. 420. His marc had DUt <>n.' 
eye, and was of a dusky brown colour. Mj ?erj respectable 
aged friend, Mrs Hardy, of Birksgate, Eirkbnrton, has given 
me several remarkable and well authenticated particulars of 
NeVlson, which are committed to writing. 



certainly, will appear more wonderful when 
the then state of th 

All the accounts published of this very 
'rated highwayman are mere " Grab- 
fabrications. There is no truth even 
as to the place where or the person by whom 
he was apprehended at last. That person, 
instead of a Captain Eardcastle, was a valiant 
tailor, whofinding him asleep on the bench of 
a bouse, of the Magpie, at Sandal, 

and one of the then three Inns called "Sandal 
Three Houses," pinioned his arms and pro- 
cure nee. Most other particulars 
about a^ uncertain and improbable as the 
adventures of Robin Hood, although centuries 
have rolled away in the interval between 

There is one very remarkable circumstance 

which causes me to doubt whether the stone 
before-mentioned has not got misplaced, 
although there is no tradition of its ever 
having laid elsewhere. There is a lane lead- 
ing to Dewsbury, exactly between what was 
tin 1 house of Fletcher, of Cross- 1 [all and 
Howley-Hall, which is called "S -nan- 
Lane." from the circumstance i nan 
having been there murdered. This i- - i 
notorious that thousands of people have, for 
generations, been fearful of travelling it after 
dark, on account of the spirit of this murdered 
man being supposed to walk there. Whether 
or not the killing of Fletcher by Nevison has 
given to the lane its name must be left to 
Conjecture — certainly the name Fletcher 

sounds Scottish.J 

It is very remarkable that we should have 

no certain accounts of men so celebrated in 
their way as Nevison and Turpin. although, 
truly, there is nothing edifying in such lives. 
However, as they both kept the kingdom in 
a state of alarm many years, and achieved 

extraordinary feats : and as their history was, 

;y. written by one Captain JohUBOn, 

scarce fifty years after the death of the former, 
and very s.h.n after that of the latter, one 

might have expected to have known some- 
thing. How formidable they were considered 
appears from their irons in York Castle, and 
the little that may be depended upon COH- 

concerning them presents us with a curious 

pictured Of the the time-. 

; yet it originally came fx 
feathering arrows, which Fletchers, who completed 

the work >>i tin- arrow smith, while the DOWyeH and sti. 
construct •<! the bow. 
I St >, especially, the.Gentleman's Magazine for 17S7j | 



I1M 



WTiile writing upon remarkable things near 

llowley ruins, I must not forgot one of 
greatest note, I mean "Lady Anne's \W11."|| 

situate on the South East Bide and near to 
SoothiU Wood. To this well, annually, on 
Palm Sunday, the surrounding villagers have, 
for ages, been wont to resort to drink its 
water on account of their supposed preter- 
natural efficacy ; for, at six o'clock on that 
morning, it was believed that they assume 
different colours. It is uncertain from whence 
the well has taken its name, but being a 
matter of much curiosity I shall offer a few 
thoughts upon it. 

The common opinion I know is that this 
was a favourite well with Lady Suisex, whose 
name being Anne or Anna makes it plausible; 
but I am persuaded it has still been a place 
of annual resort for ages. 

It is well known that in the darkest times 
of superstition, if a well was situate in a 
peculiarly solitary spot, had clear water, and 
grass flourishing near its edge, a medicinal 
or salubrious quality was soon attached to 
itH — it was dedicated to some tutelary Saint 
and honoured with his name.** We thus 
hear of St. John's, St. Winifred's, St. Mary's, 
or St. Anne's Wells. Imitating in this, as in 
other instances, the custom of their Pagan 
forefathers, the early Christians in this land 
were wont to decorate their wells on Ascen- 
sion Day, in the Spring, with flowers — a 
ceremony which was accompanied with some 
religious rite, or considered so in itself. In 
the time of the Romans, the birth-day of the 
Goddess Flora had been honoured by the 
erection of altars and institution of games at 
this very season ; and during the Floral ia the 
grossest impurities were practised. Nor have 
the devotees of our sainted Ladies been much 
behind them in amorous warmth, as the name 
of the field in question may perhaps declare. 

Remnants of well- worship have subsisted 
in Craven, according to Whitaker, within 
half a century. At Tissington, in Derbyshire, 
according to Lyson, it" is still practised. 

But I have another, and, to my mind, a 
much more satisfactory hypothesis to lay 
before the reader, touching these assemblages ; 

II This Well being considerably below the level <>f Bowley 
Hiiil. has probably only Bupplied it partially with wati r. 
•, Pilgrimages were made to wells, in some Instances their 

ImputM efficacy was ot ;i moral kind . hut the visits to them 
were generally for worldy purposes. 

• • Whitaker's Craven, 480. Dyson's m. B. vol. 5, p. 242. 
(ient.'H Mag. for 1791, P 901. Ditto for 1804, p. 71S. Ditto 

fur 17'J4, p. \i'10. Clarkson's Richmond, p 226. 



and, perhaps, this is the case, because the 
discovery is my own. 

It appears that, according to the Saxon 
Laws, the ranks of ecclesiastical structures 
were as follows: — First, there was the 
Minster or Mother Church. Secondly, the 
Church having a place of burial. Thirdly, 
the Fieldkirk* or Chapel without cemetery. 
having neither right of sepulture or adminis- 
tration of sacraments. 

Now there can be no doubt that in Saxon 
and early Norman times, as before-mentioned, 
the Church was at Morley, and afterwards at 
Batley. What then was the place of worship 
at Batleyf aforetimes? or what was that of 
which we have some vestigesj at Howdey ? 
Methinks it was a mere parochial Chapel, 
called in those days a " Fieldkirk." It was, 
however, considerable enough, in all pro- 
bability, to give rise to a village wake or fair, 
which would naturally be called 4t Fieldkirk 
Fair." 

Fairs were anciently held in Church-yards, 
on the day of the dedication of their respective 
Churches, or on the Sunday following. Mr. 
Baker says, " the origin of Fairs has been 
sought for in the annual resort to some Holy 
well, or to the Festival of the Saint to whom 
the Church was dedicated; and hence the 
most ancient fairs will be found to correspond 
with the dedication§ of the Church. 

Here then, in the vicinity of IIowley-Hall, 
we have two religious edifices in early times 
— the Kirk of Batley, and the Chapel or 
Fieldkirk at Howley or Southwell ; and we 
have also a "Holy Well." Can any one 
doubt then that there was here in former 
days a Fair? — Now then let us apply our 
knowledge of the premises as eveiy antiquary 
ought to do. 

Ask then a villager, returning from the 
annual assemblage in question, where he has 
been ? and the answer he will give you is — I 
have been at " Fieldcock Fair"\\ This, in 
fact, is the only name by which it goes. But 
who can doubt that it is a corruption of 

1 See a Fieldkirk— St. Kenelm's Chapel, County of Salop. 
Gentleman's Magazine for 1S02, p. 1177. 

t It appears from Domesday that there was a Church or 
Chapel at Batley, and a Presbyter, in Saxon times. 

{ To celebrated Wells there were often places of worship 
annexed in ancient times. See Lysons Magna Britannia 
Passim, especially his Cornwall. 

§ See Gent.'s Mag. vol. S, p. 466 and 622. Lyson's Bedford- 
shire, p. 70, etc. Nichols's Leicestershire, vol. 2, part 1, 
p. 220. 

i| See a valuable note in Hone's " Mysteries and Miracle 
plays," p. loo. 



125 



Fieldhirh Fair? No one, methiuks, who 
considers the trifling; difference there is in the 
sound or spelling of the words, and the vast 
change which some expressions are known to 
have undergone, even in the course of a few 
generations. 

But Batley Church is. perhaps, a mile from 
St. Anne's Well, and the Church is dedicated 
to All Saints, which day is on the 1st of 
November, whereas Palm Sunday is the first 
Sunday before Easter, which is a moveable 
feast. This appears an objection. But, 
besides that, the first Church at Batley may 
have been dedicated to St. Anne,1T. there is 
nothing more variable than the time at which, 
in after ages, the Fairs were held. At first. 
no doubt, after the Clergy had officiated on 
these days the people went out, at the con- 
conclusion of the service, to rural sports,** 
but in process of time the days were changed. 

••Markets and fairs," says Lysons, *• were 
formerly held at many places on Sundays, 
Good Fridays, and other great feasts and 
festivals, to the great umbrage of pious per- 
sons who often petitioned against them. In 
Henry 3rd's time, markets were changed by 
the King's charter to other times. In 1449 
they became the subject of a petition to 
Parliament." |f 

"In the Archives of Whalley," says 
Whitaker, " are letters patent of Ilenry 4th, 
annulling a fair held in the Church-yard of 
Whalley (a practice hardly abolished after 
the Reformation), which as it gave offence, 
was by other letters patent transferred to 
Clitheroe, and appointed to be held on the 
Eve-Day and Morrow el' the Annunciation." 

In Episcopal registers many licenses are 
entered for altering the dedication feasts of 
Parish Churches, and the pleas urged by the 
persons who solicited these indulgences were, 
that either the work, or the weather of the 
seasons, rendered the days originally appointed 
inconvenient or hazardous, or that they could 
not be duly observed, and with a becoming 
reverence, from their interfering with celebri- 
ties of another class, jf 

Having said so much for the " Kirk Fair," 
let us once more return to the " Lady's Well." 

•j See Hunter's South Yorkshire, p. 84 ; <>r Gentleman's 
Magazine, vol. 98, part 2, p. 2:57 ; also Speed, 7!»0. 

Wood church appears, from Speed, to have been dedicated 
to the Holy Trinity, but there ia no donbt that it was ante- 
cedently dedicated* to St. Mary. 

*" 1'osbroke's Encyclopaedia, vol. I, ]> 889 

tt See his Berkshire. History of Whalley, vol. 2, 

t; See the subject fully discnssed In ftJCh»ol vol 6 |>- 269 



Though Roman Catholic ceremonies were 
generally disused under Henry 8th, yet he 
declared that the bearing of palms, on Palm 
Sunday, was to be continued and not cast 
away; and. it appears, that they were borne 
in England until the second§§ year of Edward 
Cth, or rather later.|||| 

It was a Roman Catholic custom to resort 
to our Lady of Nants (or Ann's) Well, at 
Little Conan. in Cornwall, with a Cross of 
Palm ; and the people (after making the 
Priest a present) were allowed to throw* tho 
Cross into the Well. If it swam the thrower 
was to outlive the year — if it sunk he was 
not. 

According to Stowe, in the week before 
Easter there were great shows in London, for 
going to the woods and fetching into the 
King's house a twisted tree or " withe," and 
the like into the house of every man of con- 
sequence. It is still customary with men and 
boys, even in London, to go a palming early 
on Palm Sunday morning. Mr. Douce, in a 
MS. Note cited by Mr. Ellis, says — " I have 
somewhere met with a provervial saying, that 
he that hath not a palm in his hand on Palm 
Sunday morning-, must have his hand cut 
off."ff 

So much for the Ilowley annual assemblages 
with reference to the " Lady Ann's Well," 
which, however, from the name must neces- 
sarily be connected with Fieldkirk Fair. 
Respecting the Fieldkirk I have only to add 
the following remarks : — 

Before the time of Henry 3rd a check 
appears to have been put to the practice of 
endowing New Parishes, so that foundations 
claiming rights of sepulture ami administra- 
tion of the sacraments, henceforth assumed 
an intermediate rank between the Churches 
of the second order like that at Batley, and 
the mere Fieldkirk, and were called parochial 
Chapels. Such, probably, was the Chapel of 
Morley. 

The Fieldkirk was a mere Oratory Or Chapel 

of Base, so called, nol from its situation in the 

country, but from its lying uninclosed, and 
Open to the adjoining fields. It had no right 

or place of sepulture,* as before mentioned, 

and no stilted endowment, but the founder 

[one's Kven Day Book, vol. 1, p. 390. 
Hi! Speed, B4& Palms TON undoubtedly borne in the rei K 'u 
of Mary. 

■ ■ Sone'i Every Day Hook, vol. l, p. 386. 
• According to the Canon Law too. no bell could be rung: at 
men a Chapel. 



126 



was required by the laws of Edgar (without 
subtracting from the tithes) to maintain his 
Chaplain oat of the remaining nine parts of 
his income. To this class belonged many 
Chapels of Base, since become parochial. 

Before 1 close this subjecl of St. Anne's 
Well, there is one thin-', perhaps not worth 
remarking, but which 1 still cannot pass over. 
The well is situate, as near as I can guess, 
South East or South of the ancient residence 
at Howley. Now Soot hill is only a corrup- 
tion of Southwell, which was the name of its 
early owners, and from which family it came 
into that of Savile ; and, as in the early 
times, it was common for people to take their 
Surnames from local circumstances, so I am 
persuaded the AVell has given name to the 
family as well as to the adjacent wood. The 
Southwells are often mentioned in our national 
history, and one of them suffered cruelly in 
the arbitrary, persecuting' reign of Elizabeth.f 
Besides which Soothill is correspondent to our 
Yorkshire pronunciation, as in the instance of 
Cherill for Churwell ; Coldhill for Coldwell ; 
Stockill for Stockwell ; Parkill for Parkwell ; 
and so of innumerable w T ords of this termina- 
tion. The mention of this name leads me to 
write on Soothill-Hall, and that of Carling- 
how, before I return with the reader into the 
Wakefield and Bradford Road. 

Soothill-IIall, as may well be imagined, 
was a seat of the very great and ancient 
family of Southwell. Hereabouts (perhaps 
at Howley) in the time of the early Planta- 
genets, lived Reginald, Lord of Soothill ; and 
here also from the 22nd of Henry 3rd to the 
17th of Edward 1st, lived Sir John Soothill, 
his son and heir. I shall not pursue the 
pedigree, but content myself with remarking 
that by the marriage of Sir Henry Savile, 
grandfather of Sir John, with Elizabeth, 
daughter and heiress of Thomas Soothill, Esq. 
the families became united. The mansion at 
Soothill, the ruins of which we see. was built 
by one of the Soothills, about the middle of 
the sixteenth century, as 1 should think. It 

consisted of a square court, with open galleries 

or lobbies on two or more of the sides, but a, 

t There is a curious Paper in the LandsdoWD Collection, as 
to the state of South Wales in 1576. " The people," says the 
writer, "are naturally very devout, etc. . Nut more than the 
name of Coil they know nothing at all : and, therefore, as 

utterly ignorant OZ him or their salvation, do still, in heaps, 
go on pilgrimage to the wonted Wells and places of supersti- 
tion . anil in the nights, after the feasts, when the old oft'rings 

wit.- osed to in- Kept at any [dol'« < 'hapei. tiiiii.t ii,, Church be 

p.'llnl down, yet do they come to tin- place where the Church 
or Chapel uxu, by great journeys, barefoot, very supersti- 
tion ly" This is a beautiful Illustration of my subject. See 
Kills'-' Letters. Second Series, vol :;. p 1:1 



late owner having been such a Vandal as to 
destroy this tine building merely for the value 
of its materials, I write on it with diffidence. 
What was once the hall is. however, accident- 
lv preserved, and cannot fail to interest ; 
but a small parlour, now a bedroom, near, but 
not adjoining it. will be still more attactive to 
s >me people. It is still called "the Bishop's 
parlour."± and was once the room of Bishop 
Til son. 

Tilson was a Yorkshireman. born near 
Halifax, about 1. 775. a student of Baliol 
College, Oxford, in 150:3. and Vicar of Roch- 
dale in 1615. Becoming Chaplain to Lord 
Strafford, when he w r as Lord Lieutenant of 
Ireland, he took him over there and made him 
Dean of Christchurch, in Dublin. Pro Vice 
Chancellor of that University, and Bishop of 
Elphiu, in 1G39. From Ireland he fled,§ on 
account of his troubles, in 1G41, and his 
patron being beheaded in this year, Tilson 
retired to his family at Soothill-IIall, and 
officiated there, in the baptism of children at 
least. For several years, and even after he 
was seventy years of age, he travelled weekly 
a distance of twelve miles to perform duty 
for less than sixteen pounds per annum. The 
following copy of a letter of his shows him to 
have been a lively, facetious old man, and 
makes one feel for his hard destiny. 

" I am not," says he, " altogether idle — I 
pray after the directory. I preach every 
Sunday at a place in the mountains, called 
Cumberworth, two miles beyond Emley, 
where I have, by the way, Laurence, my 
Gams. It w r as proffered me by a gentleman, 
Mr. Wentworth, of Britton, whom I never 
saw save once before he sent unto me. And 
because it came, as all my ecclesiastical 
livings hath done, without seeking and suit, 
I took it to be appointed for me by God, as a 
little Zoar ; to save my life ; and did accept 
it, though it will not reach twenty marks per 
annum. Besides, I trust, to do God service 
in the work of my ministry, amongst that 
moorish and lately rebellious, plundering 
people. When first I went to Rochdale you 
may remember what the old hostler at the 
Hailing Bull willed me to do. ' Take with 
you,' said he, 'a great box full of tar, for 

; Watson says "he consecrated this room, gave ordination 
privately, and 'did weekly the offices of a Clergyman, some of 
his neighbours being both his hearers and benefactors." The 
Tilsons long fanned Soothill Hall, and were there so lately as 
1.748. See more in Gent's Mag. for 1S0U, p. 520. Note. 

$ I presume Archbishop Usher fled from Ireland about the 
same time and for the same cause as Tilson. See an interest- 
ing article in the Gentleman's Magazine for 1792, p. 714. 



12' 



you will find a good company of scabbed 
sheep." The first Sunday I preached in the 
forenoon, and read prayers in the after; but 
when I saw. by their munnurings, they must 
have two fotheriDgs, I made good use thereof ; 
whereas I might have given them two six- 
pences. They are well pleased if I give them 
two groats for a shilling, which I intend to 
pay them, so childish are they in right valu- 
ing of God's coin." 

It is impossible here to resist the tempta- 
tion of observing that the people of many 
villages, which I could mention, are still 
quite as singular as were the Cumberworth 
folk in the days of this humorous old Bishop, 
and for the very same " fancy" to which he 
alludes. They love good measure in every 
thing, like true Yorkshiremen, but in nothing 
more than in the article which they call 
"preaching," and which others frequently 
call "prating."* But two "fotherings," now 

It is very diverting to observe the strange fancies of 
different people. Some who are styled the '"fancy" love 
lighting— some love quarrelling and opposition— some are 
very fond of law— some of gaming— some of di inking— some 
parish business— some of longwinded sermons or speeches- 
some of hearing themselves talk— some of what they cannot 
understand— some of fictions One old lady, of fine fortune, 
spends it in running opposition coaches. One family, called 



a days, would not content such people, even 
if the Minister were to preach, as did some of 
the Bishop's contemporaries, with the hour- 
glass at his elbow; for in some places three 
on a Sabbath and two or three on other days 
of the week are become customary. 1 have 
heard, indeed, of a Reverend Shoemaker who 
was in high repute hereabouts because he 
often preached five times in seven days. To 
do the cattle impartial justice, nevertheless, I 
will say it for them, that they are not 
scrupulous as to quality in their provender, if 
quantity only be furnished ; for, to pursue t lu- 
cid Bishop's metaphor, a good "fathering" 
of "chaff" and "dust" will satisfy them 
quite as well as the finest "herbage" and 
the sweetest "flowers." Of Tilson I have 
nothing more to record, save that he died on 
the 31st of March, Hi-")."), aged 80 years, and 
was interred at the East end of the South 
Aisle of Dewsbury Church, where a tablet is 
erected to his memory. 

Rodley, have been chimney sweepers for two hundred vcars, 
and will not follow anything else. The Booksellers tell mo 
that they have the chief sale in classics and controversial 
divinity And last autumn I heard a company at Buxton talk 
near two hours about a parrot ! ! ! What a world do we live 
in. 



CARLIN G H O W 



I\ this word, spelled and pronounced as it is 
now, we have a line illustration how other 

names have been twisted from their original 
sound and signification. "How or hoo," as 
Camden tells us in page 118 of his Remains, 
" is an high place ;" but Oarlinghow is a very 

low one — it is in a valley. The word .should 
certainly be written Garjinghowgh or Car- 
linghawgh. "Howgh or llawgh," says the 
same antiquary, in the same volume, "is a 
•j:\ven plot in a valley." But Haugh signified 
also, in ancient times, hall. Thus we find, 
from Penant's London, that there was a man- 
sion called " Basingshaugh or hall," from the 
family that built it ; and so likewise from the 
family of Carting having built a capital seat 
here, the place may have derived its name 
Carlinghaugh. To the antiquary and the 
scholar I leave it to choose between the two 
etymologies which are here presented, merely 
referring him to Nicholls's Leicestershire, 
vol. 3, p. 123, for further information. One 
thing, however, is evident — namely, that 
u how" in Oarlinghow is preposterous. 

This poor village, now unworthy of a visit, 
had, some years ago, one of the most antique 
looking houses within it that I ever beheld. 
It was anciently occupied by the Ellands, of 
Elland, and by the Deightons after them. 
The Ellands, of Oarlinghow, I find were the 
descendants of Sir John Elland by his third 
wife, and four of them seemed to have lived 
here — namely, Robert, son of Sir John, — 
Thomas, the son of Robert, — Robert, the son 
of Thomas, — and lastly, Marmaduke, the son 
of Robert. It was apparently their family 
connections with the Copleys and Saviles 
which drew them into this neighbourhood. 

" Sir Bryan Thornhill, of Thornhill, by Deed 
dated Batley, 1334, gave leave to Adam de 
Oxenhoppe to assign over to William de Oar- 
linghow, the chaplain, one messuage, two 
bovat.es of land, and thirty shillings rent, 
which the said Adam held of the said Bryan, 
as parcel of the Manor of Batley ; and in con- 
sequence, and with leave; of the King, and of 
William Melton, Archbishop of York, the said 



Adam founded a Chantry in Batley Church 
for his soul and the souls of Margery his 
wife, Robert his father. Maud his mother, 
William de Copley, John. William, and 
Thomas, his brothers, and the souls of Sir 
John de Thornhill. and Bryan his son; Thos. 
de Thornton, and Ellen his wife, and John de 
Maningham, for all whose goods he had ill 
gotten,| and for all the faithful departed. £ 

The ancient mansion before noticed was a 
post and pan, or lath and plaister building, 
with curious wooden spirals or pinnacles 
carved so as to give it a most venerable 
appearance, and 1 should have taken the 
whole of it to be much older than the reign 
of Elizabeth ; yet a stone in the building (still 
preserved) shews that the masonry was not 
so, at least, for its date is 1560. If it was 
then cased with stone, of course the wood 
work might be safely referred to the Planta- 
genet reigns; and Dr. Whitaker has been 
mistaken in one respect, though right in 
another, in attributing Castle-Hall, in Mirfield, 
to the reign of Henry 8th. However this 
may be, they were two of the most curious 
and interesting structures of the domestic 
kind that ever I beheld. The whole front of 
the latter § was covered with allegorical 
devices and human figures — some in a state 
of nudity, others in curious costumes, pre- 
senting, in short, all kinds of grotesque forms, 
while the ponderous oak timber within was 
'as hard as flint, and black as ebony. Had I 
been Lord Grey de Wilton, or Mr. Beaumont, 
of Whitley, scarcely any earthly considera- 
tion, and much less the piping of a tenant, 
could have induced me to allow one stick or 
stone of these buildings to be disturbed. But 
property comes into the hands of men, alas ! 

t Many of the great people in Edward the Srd's reign con- 
tinued to be robbers and assassins, and these were the ways 
by which they were taught to quiet their consciences, especi- 
ally in sickness. 

t Watson's History of Halifax, p. 100—210. 

§ I have taken the precaution to get a drawing of Castle- 
Hall, before tin- Goths and Vandals destroyed it. I am sure 
it is ,i wonder that Clifford's Tower has not been demolished ; 
for some people would destroy the Church of the Holy 
Sepulchre, were it in England, and in its prestine form 
especially if they could get or save uvc pounds a year by the 
materials. 



129 



of veiy different tastes and inclinations ! and 
the country is thus deprived of its chief 
rarities. Over the words " Carlinghow " and 
" Mirfield " the antiquary may now write 
some such single word as " Ichabod " — their 
glory — their grandeur — their curiosity — their 
interest "have now departed" from them. 
and a farmhouse or an alehouse is now only 
seen where the pinnacles of the Ellands — the 
Copleys — the Deightons — the Mirfields — 
Hetons — and Beaumonts once rose so striking 
and so fair ! 

Returning to that part of the Wakefield 
and Bradford Road called the " Street," let 
us now pursue our course to the village of 
Adwalton, and rejoin, in imagination, the 
Marquis of Newcastle; who having left a 
garrison in llowley-llall, in June, 1643, 



marched to Adwalton, where he rested for the 
night. — In taking this line we shall not, I 
believe, be treading exactly in the footsteps 
of the Royalist army, but holding to the right 
of them, until we arrive at the field of battle ; 
for according to all the traditionary accounts, 
the Earl came out upnn the Moor by those 
fields of Miss AYhiteleg, which are on the 
South of the AVhite Horse Inn. Here, how- 
ever, he halted, taking up his quarters most 
likely at this very house, part of which, at 
least, as appears by a date of 16-12 cut on 
stone within it. was built the very year next 
before the fight. And here, before we come 
to the "tug of war," let us refresh ourselves 
by some observations on a village and plain 
which may justly be considered classic ground. 



AD WALTON. 



ADWALTON, formerly written and pronounced 

•• \ -Morton." but now (by the well known 
change of the "d" into the* "th" Atherton, 
though now a poor hamlet, only noted for its 
fairs, was so respectable in the sixteenth and 
seventeenth centuries as to have furnished 
accommodations not only for nobility but 
loyalty; oven for the renowned Elizabeth. 
Such, at least, is the tradition and belief of 
the inhabitants, who relate that, for some 
hospitalities shown her, she granted them the 
privilege of holding fairs, and that she slept 
where the White Horse Irm now stands. I 
know not what to make of this tale — it may 
be true in part, as such traditions have often 
some foundation, and yet there are some 
objections to it. In the first place, among all 
the progresses of this Queen which have met 
my eye, I never observed a Northern one ; 
and, as to the chamber which goes by her 
name, the very date of 1642 cut within it is 
a palpable contradiction. Moreover, I have 
just now a curious copy of Ilollingshed's 
Histories of England, Scotland, and Ireland, 
with wood cuts, and in black letter, laying 
before me, published in Elizabeth's reign, and 
professing to give an account of all our 
principal fairs; but no fair at this place is 
mentioned. That a fair was, however, held 
here in 1661 appears from "Hodgson's 
Memoirs." This is the earliest notice that 
has ever occurred to me, and it makes the 
account not so very incredible as it might 
otherwise be supposed. 

Those people who place reliance upon a 
sound in the etymology of a word, may 
believe that Adderton, Jladderton. or Ather- 
ton, is a corruption of Heather Town, and 
that it took its name from being situate upon 

This change took place about Henry stii'.s reign, notwith- 
standing the " (I " was occasionally retained a century after- 
wards. 
" Upon Sundays and holidays, " says a curious Paper, anno. 

1."i7. r >, ami relating to the Welch, " the multitude of all sorts, 
men, women, and children of every pariah, do use to meet 
• iUier on some hill, or on the side of some mountain, where 
their harpers and CTOWthera sing them BOUgS of the doings of 
their ancestors." Ellis's Letters, Second Serk-s, vol. •!, p. 
i'.K A crowdcr wu a minstrel who played on a species of 
riol a sort of fiddler Sec Chester Cathedral for a curious 

group of them, 



a moor abounding with hadder or heather, 
that is — heath or ling. Thus in Burton's 
Anatomy of Melancholy we have the passage 
— " They lay upon the ground covered with 
skins as the redshanks do on hadder;" but 
my decided opinion is, that Adwalton conies 
from " ad Vallum," that it deduces its origin 
from the Romans, and proves the road on 
which it lies to be a Roman road. 

It appears, upon the authority of Dr. 
Stukeley, that Caesar's camp, previous to his 
passage of the Thames, was at a place called 
" Walton," — the " common name," says he, 
" where camps are found, and coming from 
Vallum." That Stukeley was right every 
antiquary knows, and also, that no better 
proof of a Roman road can be given than the 
finding a town with such a name on any line. 
Witness, for instance, an Adwalton between 
Colchester and Chester, a well known Roman 
way. Witness an Atherston, in Leicester- 
shire, lying upon the Watling- Street,! or 
ancient road through that country. Witness 
other instances, too many to mention, but 
which I do not now recollect. 

During- the Civil War, and after it, there 
was at Adwalton an Inn, the sign of which 
is interesting, not only because "thereby 
hangs a tale," but because it indicates some- 
thing of the general feeling in these parts at 
that momentous period. u About the middle 
of July, 1661," says Captain Hodgson, J "I 
was at Adderton fair, having some goods to 
sell, and when I had taken money for them 
I was going to my post-house for my horse, 
it being at the Lord Brooke's" £c. 

1 nnkcepers do not often hang out unpopular 
signs, but such, on the contrary, as they 
imagine v\ ill best please the public, and "draw 
custom" to their houses. Now, this Lord 
Brooke was a Puritan, and a Parliamentarian, 
and an officer in the army. He was killed in 
1642, at Lichfield, of which he had taken 
possession, by a shot from the Cathedral of 
St. Chad, which a party of Royalists had 

t Sec Nichols's Leicestershire, vol. 4, p. 1036—7. 
| Hodgson's Memoirs, p. 170, 



131 



fortified, and while he was viewing' them. 
sitting in the window-seat of a house near it. 
To vilify this Nobleman, the Royalists gave 
out that he aimed at the destruction of all 
the Cathedrals in the kingdom, and they 
insinuated as much, no doubt, as to the 
wishes of other Nobles of his party. It was 
reserved for time, and especially for the 
generous Fairfax, to confute their calumnies, 
and expose their malignity. 

Such little incidents as these — ;t the Sign 
of the Lord Brooke's, at Adwalton," arc, to 
me at least, delightful. They indicate the 
public feeling and temper of these parts at 
the beginning of the Civil War. They con- 
firm the traditions of our neighbourhood, the 
narratives of my forefathers, the impressions 
of my youth, and the convictions of maturer 
life. "Well might Dr. Whitaker, in the bitter- 
ness of his wrath, acknowledge that "the 
inclinations of the clothing districts greatly 
preponderated on the side of the Parliament." 

I am far from thinking that no part of the 
premises belonging to the White Horse Inn 
are more ancient than the date 1G42 would 
bespeak, as much of them seem to belong to 
the reign of James, if not of Elizabeth. The 
Queen's chamber is, in fact, so low that a tall 
person would scarcely stand in it erect ; the 
ceiling is ornamented with square compart- 
ments of raised mouldings, having figures of 
roses, birds, and other devices, among which, 
that of a hawk upon a scroll or staff is pre- 
dominant. The stone also bearing the date 
has over it a cherubim, roses, and escalops at 
the angles, and a hawk, exactly in character 
with the other ornaments. 

About fifty yards westward of this Inn and 
on the other side of the way is another ancient 
mansion called "Usher Hall," from a Mr. 
Usher* who lived here in 1715. This man, 
it is said, upon the raising of the train bands 
in these days, sent a servant out armed 
cap-a-pie as his substitute en horseback, who, 
hearing of the Scots' defeat, returned imme- 
diately. In commemoration of the evenl 
Usher used, annually, to make a bonfire on 
the hill before his house, and serve out 
copious draughts of ale to the villagers, com- 
pelling all to drink out of the trooper's helmet. 

As 1 never read a description of the hnlled- 
house of a gentleman oi small fortune in the 

' I BtTODglv suspect, but cannot prove it, that tliis .Mr. 

Usher was related to the Archbishop; and though the family 
were Irish, tiiev probably cai vet during the troubles : ana 

if a branch settled at Adwalton. it may account U<r the Arch 
bishop being drawn towards Ilowley Hall, according to the 
tradition which Whitaker has preserved 



seventeenth century, and Usher Hall is the 
best specimen hereabouts. 1 shall present an 
account of one. 

Usher Hall, though now neglected, un- 
noticed, defiled by trade, and the abode of 
squalid poverty ("turpis Egestas"), has yet, 
evidently, been once the seat of comfort, if 
not of learning'. It has a centre and two 
wings, with the gable ends in front. Its 
exterior is common, but on his descent into 
this front (according to the strange architec- 
ture of the age) the visitor will find himself 
in a hall measuring seven yards long by six 
wide, surrounded by a cornice or moulding 
one foot broad, at a height of eleven feet 
from the ground, which displays the square 
of the room, the top of which rises with the 
elevation of the roof for about two feet six 
inches, when another moulding, ten inches 
broad, borders an oblong ceiling five yards by 
four in extent. From the centre of this ceil- 
ing hangs a sort of inverted cone of plaister 
richly ornamented, and from it a chandelier 
or lamp has evidently been suspended. On 
the right hand, over the fire-place which has 
been very large, a square compartment dis- 
plays the arms of Usher — Ar :\ lion's paws 
couped gu two and one. The shield is sur- 
mounted by the boar's head, with an apple or 
lemon in its mouth, and above it, again, is an 
helmet with a griffin's head and other fanciful 
work. The hall to a height of six feet four 
inches is wainscotted with oak. On the loft 
side or opposite to the lire-place a flight of 
broad oaken stairs, balustered, conducts to a 
gallery of the hall, communicating by very 
low doors with small bed-ro >ms — some of 
them underdrawn and corniced — some not 
either. Viewing the whole t » get her, the 
spectator might well conceive himself in the 
dining-room of an ancient baronial mansion; 
but by the same tradition which refers its 
erection to the founder of Drighlington School 
we are told that it was once a Chapel. The 
rest of the entire edifice, B misting of eleven 
Xi^vy small rooms, separated by partitions of 

oaken wainscot, is undeserving of notice. 
Notwithstanding the name and coal of arm-. 

1 have no doubl that the whole fabric owes 

its Form to Dr. dames Margetson (or Mar- 
gerison), Archbishop of Dublin, who by his 
will founded Drighlington Sch oi, May 81st, 
1678. lie was, as appears from Wood's 
Athena', of Peterhouse College, Cambridge, 
and succeeded Lancelot Bulkley (in L660) to 
the Archbishopric, 



132 



" The house of every country gentleman of 
property," says Drake, "included a neat 
Chapel and a spacious hall, and where the 
estate and establishment was considerable, 
was divided into two parts, one for the state- 
rooms, the other for the household." 

It gives me pleasure to find that the device 
of the boar's head, with a lemon in his mouth, 
may be accounted for, and that it was so 
appropriate to the hall of a gentleman uf 
former days, the scene, no doubt, of con- 
viviality and hospitality at many seasons, 
but especially at Christmas. 

Before the great Civil War the first dish 
that was brought to table in gentlemen's 
houses, at Christmas, was a boar's head with 
a lemon in his mouth.* " At Queen's Col- 
lege," says Aubrey, writing under the year 
1076," they still retain this custom. The 
l>earer of it brings the dish into the hall, 
singing to an old tune, an old Latin rhyme, 
4 Caput Apri defero— Reddens laudes Domino.' " 
i 

" The Bore's head in hand bring I 
With Oarlands gay and Rosemary ; 
—I pray yon all synge merely 
Qui* estis in Convivio. 

2 

The Bore's head I understande 
Is the chefe servyce of the lande ; 
Loke whereuer it be fande 
Servite cum Cantico. 

Be gladde, Lords, both more and lasse 
For this hath ordayned our Stewarde 

To chere you all this Christmasse 
The Bore's head with Mustard." 

A real antiquary is apt to be diffuse where 
his subject pleases him, and he imagines him- 
self able to please < thers. This must be my 
apology for attempting to illustrate still fur- 
ther the device in question. The subject being 
curious, I shall endeavour to supply a few 
links to a broken chain, and, at least, not to 
leave it worse than I have found it. The 
origin of the device or usage, perhaps, may 
be traced back to Saxon times. 

" One Nigell, having killed a, large boar in 
Bernwode Forest, Bucks, and presented its 
head to Edward the Confessor, lie gave him 
the rangershij) of that forest, also an hyde of 
land, called k Deerliyde,' and a wood, called 
' Hulewood] to hold to him and his heirs, by 
a horn — hence 'Borstall' house and manor. 
The same figure of a hoar's head was carved 
on the head of an old bedstead, remaining in 



• Hone's Table Book, vol. i, p. 890. This also appears to 
have been the annnal custom ;it ^ir Rowland VVynn'B, at 
Nortel, in tin- curly part of last century. See Memoba of tin 
Life of Mrs. < lappa. 



the tower of that ancient house or castle." J 
That the device and ceremony is very 
ancient I have met with other evidences. In 
an old eompotus we have this entry — " Payed 
for iii shetes thick gross paper, to deck the 
boar's head in Christmas, xii d -"* And again, 
in another part. " More payed to Bushe, of 
Bury, paynter, for paynting the bore's head 
with sondry colours, ii s - " And again, in 
Nicholls's Progresses of Elizabeth, or his 
Leicestershire, under Christmas Day, 1562, 
we have this minute — " Dinner, a fair and 
large boar's head on a silver platter, napkins, 
trenchers, spoons, and knives at every table."f 
So much for " Usher Hall." 

There are other ancient buildings in this 
neighbourhood on which I could expatiate 
with pleasure, especially " Lumb Hall," re- 
markable once for its fine " Oriel " window, 
and where I once saw a stand for arrows, 
&c, but I must restrain myself. Barbarous, 
immoral, and poor, however, as this part of 
the country has been for above a century, it 
was once a choice situation. There is now 
only one other dwelling which merits notice, 
and this is a cottage. 

This cottage which is, I think, the furthest 
on the Moor, and on the right from Adwalton 
to Birstal, is very different in its structure 
from Slack's cottage at Morley. It is of lath 
and plaster, and consists of but one low 
storey, as that originally has done ; but here 
we have a hut " gallowsed " at the ends (to 
use a Yorkshire term) and having the rigtree, 
or top beam of the roof, supported by this 
gallowsing, or chiefly so. 

Upon the roof of this cottage a boy sat 
and saw the Battle of Adwalton Moor, a fact 
which John Barrowclough, a very aged man, 
used often to relate,} whose mother knew 
this person very well; and through this 
channel it has reached me, that the Earl of 
Newcastle's troops came out upm the Moor 
over that high ridge where there are now 
collieries of Aliss Whiteleg. The soldiers of 

\ Blount's Tenures, by Beckwith, p. 24:5. Gentleman's 
Magazine. 1820, page 299. 

Gaze's I lent; rave, L92; Ts' icholl's Progresses. See further 
—Hone's Every Day Book, vol. 1, p. 11)20. Table Book, vol. 1, 
l». 890. 

t My conjecture is that the "Boar's Head and Mustard " 
gave way to the "Call's Head and Brains." A dish very 
common still on the 80th of January. " The Calves' Head 
Club " nourished in London till some part of the last century, 
and there was, probably, the brains ; which is more than can 
be said for all associations, so far as their object in meeting is 
concerned. 

I For this I have the authority of one of the most truly 
venerab e men 1 know, and who once accompanied me to the 
field of Hat tie 



w 



Fairfax coining' from Whisket-IIill would 
approach iu a direction nearly opposite. 

That this was the hill alluded to by Sir 
Thomas Fairfax in his Memoirs, as the place 
where the fight commenced, is manifest not 
only from tradition, but from a scarce 
pamphlet, printed in 1G49, and entitled "An 
historical relation of eight years' services for 
King and Parliament, done in and about 
Manchester and those parts, by Lieut. Col. 
John Roseworm, who writes as follows : — 

" About July 4th, 1643, the Earl of New- 
castle with no small force made an angry 
approach towards Lancashire, our men at 
Manchester were sent out to oppose his 
passage. The issue was, our men were beaten 
at Whisket-IIill, in Yorkshire, and pursued 
into Lancashire by the enemy, who quickly 
also possessed himself of Halifax. When I 
had received this sad intelligence, I informed 
myself of the nature of the passes by which 
the enemy could most easily come in upon 
us, and finding them capable of a sudden 
fortification, by the consent of the Deputy 
Lieutenants. I quickly helped nature with art, 
strengthening Blackstone-Edge and Blacke- 
Gate, and manning them with soldiers to 
prevent the Fail's dangerous approach, by 
which means, being diverted, like an angry 
storm with a gust, he went to the siege of 
Hull." 

Writing upon the year 104:3, " I must not 
forget," says Mr. Evelyn, "to relate what 
amazed us on the night of the 10th of March 
— namely, a shining cloud in the ayre, in 
shape resembling a sword — the point reaching 
to the North. It was as bright as the moon, 
the rest of the sky being very serene. It 
began about eleven at night, and vanished 
not till one, being seen by all the South of 
England." This was ominous at a period 
when omens were observed and were in- 
fluential. 

But now let us come to the Battle of 
Adwalton Moor — a battle so much more 
honourable, when rightly understood, to the 
Parliamentarians, though routed, than to the 
"Cavalier-." who gained here a short-lived 
advantage, that 1 cannot refrain from the 
narrative; first, only premising thai though 
the former were but a handful of men, com- 
pared with the latter- -had few cavalry, and 
no artillery with them, vet, that their defeat 

was entirely occasioned by treachery and 
accident. 



Having previously related the many priva- 
tions, hardships, and disadvantages of lu- 
men up to the time of this contest, Sir 
Thomas Fairfax proceeds thus : — 

" Hitherto, through God's mercy, we had 
held up near two years against a potent 
army : but they finding us now almost tired 
with continual service, treacherously used be- 
friends, and wanting many things necessary 
for support and defence, the Earl of New- 
castle marched with an army of ten or twelve 
thousand men to 1 j, and resolved to 

sit down before Bradford, which was a very 
untenable place. 

"Hither my father drew all the force- he 
could spare out of the garrisons, but seeing 
it impossible to defend the town otherwise 
than by strength of men, and that we had 
not above ten or twelve days provision for so 
many as were necessary to keep it, we 
resolved next morning, with a body of three 
thousand men. to attempt his whole army, as 
they lay in their quarters three miles off ; 
hoping, by it, to put him to some distraction, 
which could not be done any other way, by 
reason of the unequal numbers. 

" To this end my father appointed four of 
the clock next morning to begin our march, 
but Major General Gifford. who had the 
ordering- of the business, so delayed the 
execution of it that it was seven or eight 
before we began to move, and not without 
much suspicion of treachery ; for, when we 
came near the place we intended, the enemy'- 
whole army was drawn up in battalia. 

" We were to go up a hill to them. That 
our forlorn hope gained by heating theirs into 
their main body, which was drawn up half-a- 
mile further upon a plain, called 'Adderton 

Moor.' Wo being all got up the hill, drew 
into battalia also. — 1 commanded the right 
wing, which was about one thousand foot, 
and five troops of horse. Major Genera] 

Gilford commanded the left wing, which was 
about Iho same number. — My lather com- 
manded in chief. 

•• We advanced through the inclosed 
grounds till we came to the MoOT, heating 
the foot that lay in them to their main body. 

•• Ten or twelve troops of horse charged us 

in the right wing — we kept the mclofiures, 

placing our musketeers in the hedges next t<> 

the Moor, which was : , good avant I 
who had so few QOrse. 

" There was agate or open place to the Moor 



134 



when five or sir might go abreast Here they 
strive to enter — we to defend it. but after 
some dispute those thai entered the pass 
found sharp entertainment, and those who 

were not OS yet entered, as ho1 a welcome 

from the musketeers that Hanked them in the 
hedges. They were all in the end forced to 
retreat with the loss of Colonel Howard,* 
who commanded them. 

" Our left wing was at the same time 
engaged with the enemy's foot, and had 
gained ground of them. The horse came 
down again and charged us, they being- about 
thirteen or fourteen troops. We defended 
ourselves as before, but with more difficulty. 
Many having- gotten in among us were beaten 
off, but with some loss — Colonel Heme, who 
commanded that party, was slain. We pur- 
sued them to their cannon. 

"Here," continues Sir Thomas Fairfax, "I 
cannot omit a remarkable instance of divine 
Justice. Whilst we were engaged with the 
horse that entered the gate, four soldiers had 
stripped Colonel Heme naked as he lay on 
the ground, men still fighting round about 
him ; and so dexterous w r ere these villains 
that they had done it and mounted themselves 
again before we had beaten the enemy off ; 
but after we had beaten them to their 
ordnance, as I said, and were now returning 
to our ground again, the enemy discharged a 
piece of cannon in our rear. The bullet fell 
into Captain Copley'sf troop, in which were 
these four men, two of whom were killed, 
and some hurt or mark remained on the 
others, though dispersed into several ranks of 
the troops, which made it more remarkable. 
We had not yet martial law among us. This 
gave me a good occasion to declare to the 
soldiers how God would punish when men 
wanted power to do it. 

"This charge, and the resolution our men 
showed on the left wing, made the enemy 
think of retreating. Orders were given for it, 
and some marched off the field. 

"Whilst they were in this wavering con- 
dition. Colonel SkirtonJ desired his General to 
let him charge once with a stand of pikes, 
with which he broke in upon our men, and 

Hi- Liei burled, aa I am credibly Informed, ;it Corby 
Church, live milea from Carlisle, ana <m the Banks of the 
ESden ; when a tablet oommemo atea his fall at A.therton. 

t This, I have do doubt, was one <>i' the Copleys, of Batley 
Hail, which family married Into that of the Saviles, of Howley. 

.My r.-.iM)iis will appear elsewhere. 

| This name I rasped to be Sturton, and that it was 10 
written by sir Thomas Fairfax, and that this Colonel Sturton 
was* Konian Catholic. One. of Henrietta Maria's Colonels 



(not being relieved by our reserves, which 
were commanded by some ill affected officers, 
chiefly Major General Gifford, who did not 

his part as he ought to do) our men lost 
ground, which the enemy seeing pursued this 
advantage by bringing on fresh troops ; ours, 
being therewith discouraged, began to fly, 
and were soon routed. The horse also 
charged us again. We, not knowing what 
was done on the left wing, our men main- 
tained their ground till a command came for 
us to retreat, having scarce anyway left now 
to do it, the enemy being almost round about 
us, and our way to Bradford cut off. But 
there was a lane in the field ice were in, which 
led to Halifax, and which, as an happy pro- 
vidence, brought us off without any great 
loss, save of Captain Talbot and twelve more 
that were slain in this last encounter. Of 
those who fled there were about sixty killed 
and three hundred taken prisoners." 

Some years ago I reconnoitred this field of 
battle, near Adwalton, more times than once, 
having 1 the foregoing narrative fresh upon my 
mind; and the impressions then made upon 
me were committed to writing. Nothing can 
be more intelligible than the account of the 
modest and gallant Fairfax, whose accuracy 
also is not only confirmed by the Memoirs of 
Capt. Hodgson, and of the Historian Rush- 
worth, but by others. As some inclosures, 
however, and many alterations have been 
made in and near this field since his days, 
and the lanes are fast disappearing, that our 
posterity may have an idea of the battle, I 
shall communicate my gleanings. 

On the South West side of the Moor is a 
lane called " Warren's- Lane," which opened 
upon it, and through which about five or six 
men might have walked abreast. It leads, 
with a bending course, Southward, to Oak- 
well-Hall, the seat of the family of Batt, 
before-mentioned ; thence it conducts to the 
bottom of the village of Great Gomersal,§ 
and so on to the top of what is now the 
Leeds and EUand Road. It is needless, per- 
haps, to say that this was the way by which 
Sir Thomas Fairfax retreated to Halifax, as 
its very situation indicates as much; besides 
which we know that soldiers entered Oakwell 
Hall on the day of the light, and of a person 
having opened a gate for Sir Thomas on his 
road to Gomersal. I am more minute in my 

§ This Lane or some one of those leading out of Adwalton 
Moor was, I have little doubt, the ancient road from Halifax 
to Leeds, passing through " Neepshaw-Lane," and over the 
Moor. Such at least has been the tradition, now nearly lost, 



135 



description of Warren's-Lane, because it 
enables the inquisitive observer to form the 
best notion of the fight, and because it already 
lias disappeared, or soon is likely to be seen 
no more. The lower part, indeed, or that 
next Oakwell-IIall, has been long added to 
the adjoining fields. It was in the inclosures 
on the North of this lane's top that Sir 
Thomas Fairfax was posted, having his ex- 
treme right upon it. 

On the West side of the Moor is another 
lane called " Hodgson's-Lane," no doubt 
from Capt. Hodgson, of Coley-Hall, near 
Halifax,* to whom and to whose interesting 
Memoirs I have before referred. It leads to 
Birkenshaw, and out upon Tong Moor, 
which, being in the direction of Bradford, 
was about the line in which the Parlia- 
mentarians advanced, after having driven the 
out-posts of the enemy from the summit of 
Whisket-Hill. Hodgson's-Lane top and the 
immediate inclosures give us the centre of 
the line where the battle became general; 
and it was, no doubt, with a view of breaking 
this centre, that charges of cavalry were so 
often made upon it at this place. — Here was 
"the gate or open place upon the Moor 
where," as we are told, u five or six might 
enter abreast." — Here Lord Ferdinando Fair- 
fax commanded in chief — and here the battle 
raged with the utmost fury. 

On the right of Hodgson's-Lane, or still 
more Northward, is now a windmill, which 
gives us, very nearly, the post of the 
treacherous Major General Gifford. Between 
that part of the Moor which is at the top of 
the lane and the point opposite this windmill 
is now a line of cottages just skirting upon 
the plain. Hereabouts, from what will here- 
after appear, the tug of war must have been 
tremendous. 

That such was the position of the Parlia- 
mentarians is manifest, upon a review of Sir 
Thomas Fairfax's narrative, an inspection of 
the ground, and the traditions and accounts 
of the villagers. Sir Thomas commanded the 
" right wing" — " and there ivas a lane" says 
he, " in the jleld ice were in which led to 
Halifax, which, as an happy providence, 
brought us off without any great loss." And 
again he tells us — " When the command came 
for us to retreat, there was scarce any way 

' From Capt. Hodgson's mention of the "Service Book," 
which was introduced in Scotland, July 23rd, 1687, and Other 

particulars, it is to be inferred that he took up arms carh in 
the Civil War, and hi>> comrade, the Major, very probably did 
the »me, 



to do it, the enemy being almost round about 
us, and our way to Bradford cut off." By 
what ever way, therefore, old Ferdinando 
and General Gifford retired to Bradford, Sir 
Thomas was compelled to retreat by 
Warren's-Lane to Halifax, as upon any other 
route he must have been intercepted. 

Though the Battle of Adwalton Moor is 
little noticed in our general histories, and 
though its issue was unpropitious to freedom, 
it is still worthy of a better pen than mine. 
The military relics annually found after a 
lapse of nearly two centuries, and those too 
in iields which many scores of times have 
been gone over with the plough, sufficiently 
indicate the severity of the conflict, while 
the} r corroborate my account as to the posh ion 
of the Parliamentarians. 

In the inclosures on the right of Warren's- 
Lane, as you enter it from the Moor, many 
cannon balls of iron and lead — horse shoes of 
singular forms — grape or cannister shot — 
bridle-bits with chains — bullets of different 
sizes — (of nearly all which I have specimens) 
— have been repeatedly turned up even of 
late years ; and the same thing may be said 
as to all the inclosures, till you get a field or 
two North East of the windmill, when they 
cease to appear. In the fields North West 
of the windmill the quantity of bullets dis- 
covered has been so great that a dozen have 
been found in one day ; and in a little garden, 
on the West skirts of the Moor, a woman 
told me her husband had found scores of 
them, which had been given to their children 
for "taws." But though the contest seems 
chiefly to have been within the inclosures on 
the West and North West skirts of the Moor, 
we are not to suppose there was no fighting 
upon the plain; for Sir Thomas relates (hat 
the enemy were pursued even to their cannon ; 
and there is some evidence of this in tho 
Bwords, pikes, and other things which have 
been discovered in banks of old inclosures on 
the East or Adwalton side of it, and the samo 
articles tell us that there was sharp work 
between Hodgson's and Warren's-Lane. 

Such was the Battle of A.dwalton Moor, in 
which many of those persons whose names 
are most material to my history, acted a con- 
spicuous part. One of them, at least, did so, 

+ It appears, from the Rfemoira of the Major*! intimata 
acquaintance, Captain Bodgaon, that Lord Fairfax camo to 
Bradford to strengthen bia party, and lamed an Invitation to 

the country to como in, "at which time." Bajlhe, "many 

appeared, both bona and foot, and itaidu the arniT. 1 see 

page 95, aud their reasons for so doing. 



136 



and that one was Joshua Greatheed, then in 
the 28th year of his age, and promoted by 
t old Ferdinando to the rank of Major for his 
extraordinary energies on this memorable 
iidd.t— \\ hatever ground there might be 
complaint against Gifford, or againsl one 
Major Jeffries, the keeper of the ammunition, 
"which he treacherously contrived to make 
away with," or withhold, according to Mr. 
Lister's testimony, or whatever suspicion 
might attach to others high in command, 
none, certainly, belonged to the other officers 
and soldiers, whose devotion to "the good 
cause," even under circumstances the most 
trying, was unimpaired. As to Greatheed 
(who was probably an officer at this period) 
he attracted the notice of the whole army.— 
Where the banners rose and the halberd 
glittered— where the thunders roared and the 
lightnings flew— amidst the shouts of battle 
and the shock of aims, and where death 
appeared hi its most varied forms, he was 
observed to rush like one who courted 
destruction, but had resolved to part with life 
at the dearest price. Yet, strange to tell ! 
by that singular fatality, which at such times 
is often attendant on peculiar daring, " while 
soldiers fell around, before, behind, and on 
every side, there was no bullet for him."— 
But the hairbreadth escapes which he had was 
evidenced by his hat,} preserved in the family 
lor above a century afterwards. It had been 
perforated by two balls, and cut in stripes, 
upon the brim, by the swords of cavalry.§ It 
excited, no doubt, the surprise and admiration 
of thousands. It bespoke the undaunted 
character of its owner, fighting, as he must 
have been, in the very thickest of the enemy. 
Susannah Westerman, mother of Hannah 
Westerman, of Morley, and who lived as 
servant to the granddaughter of the Major, 
used often to talk about this hat, which she 
well recollected her mistress bringing along 
with his swords, commission, picture, and 
other things, to Morley. Other persons too, 
besides John Westerman, (still living) have 
told me of this hat in my juvenile days, but 
alas! although I possess 'the other things, 
the hat was lost before I came into existence! 
— 1 fortunately for me my grandfather could 
sec no value in this grotesque and singular 

jMr. Owen Scatcherd, aged now about seventy years, informs 
ine that .e perfectly remembers also a kind of helmet, the 
^i,™ urS WaS °i Hteel > » JC 'nfe' shown by his grandmother 
ntong with the swords, commission, and other things of the 

i cannot be quite sure whether this was doneonAtherton 
or on Mftnton-Moor, but tradition reported the former. 



hat, and never dreamt how different from his 
own might be the taste of his posterity. 
The Battle of Adwalton Moor, notwithstand 

the result, is anion- the number of contests 
ol these times, which may teach us the vast 
superiority of moral over mere physical or 
brute force— of principle and patriotism, over 
ignorance and servility. Confiding in their 
immense numbers— their powerful cavalry 
and cannon — in the treachery of Gifford 
Jeffries, and others, and the discontent arising 
from false notions, the Royalist army could 
assure itself of nothing short of an immediate 
victory; and yet, after all, it was only 
achieved by a sort of accident. Their out- 
posts beaten back upon the main body, twice 
did they attack with a numerous cavalry, and 
twice were they driven away to their cannon, 
leaving their commanders dead upon the 
held. The little army advanced— the mighty 
host retired— a general panic had seized'it— 
"a general retreat* was sounded "—and 
"troops even had quitted the field"— all, in 
short, appeared to be over, and the Repub- 
lican arms were triumphant, when by the 
fortune of a General Officer on the one side, 
and the perfidy of some of higher rank on 
the other, the battle, lost, was recovered. 

In Watson's History of Halifax it is said 
that the soldiers (meaning the Republicans) 
upon their retreat entered Oakwell-IIall in 
search of Dr. Marsh, a Royalist, Vicar' of 
.birstal, and afterwards of Halifax, who mar- 
ried to his second wife a daughter of Robert 
Batt, the owner of that house. If this 
account be correct, it must at least be allowed 
that they behaved well, in neither plundering 
the house, as the Royalists did llowley-IIall 
or hurting any one ; but it seems very un- 
likely that soldiers upon a retreat should have 
loitered here in quest of an insignificant 
individual, and that man only a Parson 
Much more credible is the tradition which* 
attributes all this to the violence of the 
Royalist party, against the Republicans 
suspected to have been concealed there 
U hatever soldiers they were, the terror of 
Mrs. Ball, at this time confined « to the 
Straw," was very great, and so scared was 
her nurse (hat, snatching up ihe child, she 
lied with it m haste to Pontefract 



Sir Thomas Fairfax, I observe ninlrp<s r> n ,„«„*• * 
in.I.vuluals who displayed SSSS^St^SuT^^ 
wa, doubtless, good pojoy in this, especially at the i berinnE! 
of the war. Besides, where so many ofa Uttl* iv,,,i } g 
rto» acted herojealtf it would have MKU^iffi 
but a few. Betides, too, it was not the custom of las times, 



137 



Since writing- the above passage I have 
been informed, on most respectable authority, 
that the owner of Oakwell-Hall. in 1643, was 
an officer on the Royalist side, and was at 
the Battle of Adwalton Moor; and I find 
mention made of a Captain Batt in Hodgson 
and Pepyss's Memoirs, f as being in the 
service of Charles 2nd. Besides, I know, 
and have stated heretofore, what were the 
principles of these " blind " but knavish 
" Batts " under the reigns of James, Charles, 
and Charles, his son. These reflections incline 
me to think that there is an anachronism and 
other blunders in Watson's account. My 
conjecture therefore is, that Fairfax's troops 
did, at some time before or after the battle, 
enter Oakwell- House, not in search, however, 
for Parson Marsh, but for Captain John Batt, 
who was then its owner. Marsh, no doubt, 
married a daughter of Robert Batt, the uncle 
of John, and Fellow and Vicemaster, at one 
time, of University College, Oxford; for this 
narration is not opposed to the pedigree of 
the family; but then Robert was not the 
owner of Oakwell Mansion, how often soever 
he, or his son-in-law, might visit there. 

Richard Marsh, of Cambridge University, 
"was Chaplain to Archbishop Laud, and 
afterwards to Charles 1st. In November, 
1644, he had the Deanery of York given him 
by the King, then at Oxford, in preference of 
(another sycophant) Dr. Peter Heylin, who 
endeavoured by his friends to procure^ that 
dignity. After the Restoration he was again 
elected to the Deanery, and installed on the 
20th of August, 1660, and dying on the 13th 
of October, 1663, aged 78, he was buried 
near the grave of Archbishop Hutton." One 
cannot but perceive by this, among innumer- 
able other such instances, what all these 
fellows with their clamour§ about " loyalty " 
were secretly after ; and here we may gather 
one reason why Cromwell has been so hated 
and vilified by men of their cloth. lie cut 
down monopolies — abolished pluralities — 
compelled residence — and ejected scandalous 
Ministers. In short, he allowed the Nation 
to enjoy a large portion of that benefit which 
those who wanted more their political ser- 
vices conferred on them. With him real 
merit, and merit only, arising from superior 

t See also Hodgson's .Memoirs, p. 99 ; Ritthworth, vol. ■'•. 
p. 279 ; Hodgson, p. 180. 

X As far aa I remember this information was gathered from 
Wood's Athense. 

§ I might with as much propriety have written "rant," as 
clamour, for there has been, since the accession of the Tudors 
at least, a cant h. politics equal to any cant ia religion 



integrity or talents, was the sure and only 
road to promotion. 

Oakwell-Hall. upon which, fortunately, we 
have a date, 1583, is, even yet, a cu. ious and 
beautiful mansion. The present owners, 
Messrs. Wray and Oliver, obtaine 1 it by 
marriage with the two nieces of one Henry 
Barker, of Gray's Inn. It seems to have 
been built by that Henry Batt win pulled 
down the great bell of Birstal Church, and 
also the Vicarage-House, converting the 
materials and produce thereof to his own 
emolument. 

From this house to the Church the distance 
is so short that I must not omit the mention 
of a few particulars, unnoticed, as far as I 
remember, by any preceding author. For a 
particular account of the Church itself — a list 
of its Vicars, and notices of the chief persons 
who lie interred within it, I must 
refer the reader to YVhitaker's Leeds. It is 
not for me to relate what has been told by 
others, besides which, my aim throughout 
this work is to confine myself to matter of 
amusement or instruction. In a word, I 
aspire to the honour of having my book read 
by people of all descriptions, and not regarded 
witli cold indifference as a dry compilation, or 
a book only of reference. 

This beautiful country Church,* with its 
fine embattled tower of the same age, mani- 
festly, as that of Batley, has eight excellent 
bells, lately recast, and a capital organ. For 
propriety in every respect no Church can 
surpass it. If there be one subject of regret, 
I must say it is the substitution of Sunday 
Scholars, squalling in the gallery, in the place 
of that fine set of singers, which thirty years 
ago was the pride of Birstal, and the "envy 
of surrounding villages." And here, by the 
way, I would record it that about this time 
music was at its height in Yorkshire. Many 
of our country singers were astonishingly 
conversant with the works of Handel. Boyce, 
Green, and other great composers. Many 
were excellent sightsmen — that is. able to 
sing a piece of music at first sight, especially 
if the words were known to which that music 
was adapted. Some, I have known, who 

The chancel of Hirst. il Church hai been Wr line, but it 
i- DOW Dearly tilled with pews. On the North side Of the 
altar or coiniuunion table, U thfl burial place, arcoph&gus, 
or ohapel of t he Greene, of Uvereedgs (en lento of the 
\ riles). On the South tide is that which onee hnimnml to 

Batts, and appurtaini to the Oakwell property, a pereon 
here lies buried nnder ■ plain il igatone, without • single letter 
over bini, eitht r from ■ relation or afmnalntaneo 4 — The rendu 

shall draw his own Inference it Will certainly be correct. 
'1 he Churufl Of Uirstal is dedicated to >t l'et'T. 



138 



could sing- upon any cliff — nay, one Ananiah 
lllingworth, a poor, working clothier, of 
Morley, had such a talent this way that even 
the old, obsolete cliffs, pertaining (once) to 
Church music, did not half so much puzzle 
hhn as the leading of words. I know not to 
what other cause than the great increase of 
organs to attribute the general decrease of 
musical men, since about the close of the last 
century ; and yet, at Birstal, there was an 
organlong before that timet However, it 
strikes me, that wherever there is an en- 
couragement to musical men, without musical 
voices, to study the science, music will more 
certainly prevail than where such men, by 
the introduction of an organ, are set aside. 

The Register of Birstal Church, like those of 
Batley, Ardsley, and Woodchurch, is remark- 
ably defective for that period, about which a 
strong curiosity is ever felt. Not one person 
did I find in the list of interments who could 
be supposed to have fallen at Adwalton Moor 
Fight, so that I am fully persuaded the slain 
were buried on the plain. It is singular, 
however, that none of their bones have been 
discovered ; a circumstance which causes me 
to think they were thrown into deep pits dug 
upon the field,J after the usage of preceding 
centuries. 

The oldest stones in the Church-yard are 
two which lie unnoticed on the East side. 
They have ancient crosses cut in relief upon 
them, one of which is a sort of wheel cross ; 
and one of them has the figure of an hour- 
glass, intended, as I am persuaded, to repre- 
sent an ancient chalice ; but not a single letter 
has ever appeared upon them. These stones, 
beyond a doubt, once lay in the chancel of 
the Church, over the graves of the early 
Vicars, and were cast out of it, when the 
present Church was built, along with others 
of the same kind, which have been destroyed. 
One of them, at least, of very high antiquity, 
has certainly been broken up or converted to 
some ignoble use. 

Not far from these slabs is the base of a 
pedestal, which rustic ignorance would refer 
to a dial, as in the instance of one at Morley ; 
but its situation and remains convince me to 
have belonged to an ancient cross, demolished, 
without dispute, in Henry the 8th or Edward 
the 'ith's reign, but more probably in Edward's. 

t There mav, however, liave been, and probably \\;i*. a fine 
Bet of singers before the organ, which is not an old one, was 
introduced. 

| See Drake's account of Towton Field, and innumerable 
other authorities 



It is the fashion of the present age,§ as it was 
of the last century, to attribute every work of 
spoliation to the noblest, the bravest, the 
most generous and patriotic set of men that 
ever appeared in this our laud, or that any 
age or nation has produced. These repre- 
sentations always appear to me the offspring 
of malevolence, servility, or ignorance; and 
the more I have read on the subject of our 
sepulchral monuments and ecclesiastical anti- 
quities, the more I detest that baseness which 
would refer the plunder, devastation, and 
violence of the execrable Tudor dynasty to 
men of the most opposite character. Not 
that I would insinuate these patriots to have 
been absolutely guiltless ; for into some 
excesses they were, assuredly, betrayed. But, 
considering their prejudices, their provoca- 
tions, and the age in which they lived, their 
forbearance is wonderful, unless it be deemed 
unpardonable in them to have pulled down 
the castles — the strongholds of despotism — 
the seats of aristocracy and petty tyranny 
throughout the nation. || 

The stone which has the most ancient 
inscription of any now visible is on the North 
West side of the Church. Upon it is engraved 
IT. R. xxviii July, A.D. 1602. This, which is 
the most ancient flat gravestone which I ever 
remember to have seen in a Burial-ground, 
was found lately with some other old slabs on 
the West of the belf^ or tower, covered 
with earth and rubbish. As the Reyners and 
Hopkinsons were the chief families in the 
seventeenth century at Birstal, I take it that 
this stone was for one of the Reyners. 

The next stone in point of antiquity lies at 
the South West corner of the porch. It is 
for one Nicholas Kitson, of Gomersal- Magna, 
whom it states was buried here the 25th of 
November, 1643. I notice it because this 
was scarcely four months after the tremendous 
battle in the neighbourhood. 

A noil km- stone, having the inscription com- 
posed by a celebrated Sessions Lawyer, and 
which was at Oakwell-IIall, ready cut, and 
prepared for removal, long before the death 
of him whom it commemorates, is so curious 

§ There were some bones found at Adwalton four years 
ago, and thereby hangs a curious narrative, but for some time 
it may be as well omitted. 

|| 1 often meet with people who attribute the pulling down 
of the Abbeys— the destruction of the Crosses the destruction 
of lulls— and robbery of the Churches, to Oliver Cromwell ; 
not knowing that it was Cromwell, the vile Minister of Henry 
the 8th, who countenanced these things. To confound two 
men of such an opposite character, is worse than the blunder 
of the man who knew no difference between Alexander the 
Gr»at and Alexander the copper-smith. 



m 



that I cannot refrain from noticing it. The 
name of Fairfax Fearnley will make it in- 
teresting to a few readers. 

'• This is to the memory of Old Amos 
Who was, when alive, for hunting, famous ; 
But now his chases are all o'er, 
And here he's earth'd, of years fourscore. 
Upon this stone he's often sat. 
And tried to read his Epitaph ; 
And thou who dost so at this moment, 
Shalt, ere long, somewhere lie dormant." 

" Amos Street, of Birstal, huntsman to Mr. 
Feamley, of Oakwell, departed this life, Oct. 
3rd, 1777." 

Feamley died, if I mistake not, suddenly, 
at Harewood House, where he was a visitor. 
It is said he used frequently to fall asleep 
during the concerts there, which may very 
well be credited from the above specimen of 
his deficiency, both as to ear and taste. His 
memory, however, was great, and by the appli- 
cation of his talents to one thing only (the Law) 
he made a considerable figure in these parts 
for many years. His burial place w T as Hare- 
wood Church, where there is a tablet — the 
only thing which commemorates his having 
once existed. 

Upon a tombstone on the West side of 
Birstal Church, is the following inscription : — 

" Sub hoc Tumulo depositee sunt Exuviae 
Ricardi Ford de Liversedge Medici suo 
tempore celeberrimi qui obiit Aprilis XV 
Anno Dni MDC xci a^tatis GO. Juxta hie 
jacet Maria ejusdein Ricardi filia quce obiit 
Feb 4 AD 1694." 

I am unable to give any account of this 
celebrated physician or of his family. 

At the East end of the Church, upon a 
stone over the window, are the letters 
I. H. 0. ; and the same may be seen carved 
on oak wood, under a pinnacle at the North 
end of the ancient Rectory-House. 

There has been much dispute among the 
learned as to the meaning of these letters, 
which are sometimes I. II. 0.* and at other 
times I. IE. S. Some writers say they are 
the initials of Jesus hominum Salvator or 
Soter — Conservator or Oonditor. Others think 
the word Jesus is only intended, and say it 
is the illiterate abreviation of the Greek word 
IHEOVE, brought by pilgrims from the Holy 

' One of the Historians of Pontefract is so little Of U 
antiquary as to be "set quite fast" with tlie.se ordinary 
initials. No wonder that he could not make out the age of 
All Saints (lunch there ; for, though living then on tin 
he probably never .saw an inscription on a pillar of that 
Church, which an architect lately found, and was also at a loss 
to make out. From his drawing and description [conjecture 

that it was built by the Ouild Of the Holy Trinity, at Ponte 
fract, in Richard the 2nd's reign, and with this the architecture 
of the Church corresponds. 



Land, where it was thus written, altering the 
S. or Sigma into C. or Cappa. In this dis- 
pute, as in that of the travellers about the 
colour of the chameleon, It seems to me that 
" all are right, yet all are wrong," — in other 
words, that sometimes the letters are used 
in one way and sometimes in another, but 
generally, I believe, the word Jesus only is 
intended. 

That I. II. S. is a contraction for Jesus 
appears from its being spelt Ihesus, as 
Nichols saysf it is found upon a bell, cast in 
1596 ; and a writer in the Archa3ologia also 
tells us of a bell on which was inscribed 
" Ihesus be our speed." Again we meet with 
instances in which it is coupled with other 
words and can only signify Jesus, as in the 
Gentleman's Magazine, for 1803, p. 417, 
where we read of a motto, " Jesus exaltatio 
Mea." In all these instances, I. II. S. or 
I. II. C. clearly signify but that word at the 
name of which, as we are told, " eveiy knee 
should bow." 

Some writers,^ however, pretend to say 
they have foimd I. H. S. or I. H. C. coupled 
with the words " et P. C," and, if this be so, 
we must, undoubtedly, read it Jesus hominum 
Salvator, et Pacis Conditor. But, really, I 
believe, if the truth were declared, their "et" 
would be "x," and, if so, every antiquary 
knows that X. P. C. or X. P. S. being 
Christus, 1. H. C, X. P. C. is Jesus Christ, 
which brings us back again to my favourite 
interpretation. 

One of our best antiquaries — Watson, (lie 
Historian of Halifax, informs as that in 
domestic buildings these letters were put up 
as an antidote against I lie power of witch- 
craft, and this is confirmed by an authority in 
the ArchaBologia.§ From their being found, 
however, in all parts of OUT sacred structures, 
1 have no doubt that their efficacy was 
believed to extend much further than is sup- 
posed. 

These letters are found not only on bells|| 

but on ancient Romish vestments— cushions 
— hinges of doors — pews — fonts — windows — 
lamp-; — coins — cenotaphs — rings — purses or 
pouches — swords — armorial bearings — conse- 
crated wafers — chalices, and other ancient 

, Eistorj of Leioeatenhire, vol. •_', pari i. p. 186— 197. 
nUeman'a M agudne fur 1788, p. osi. 

I Vol 20, p. 521 Vol ;;, ,,. 819; WhitaUi'.s Leedf, rol. •_», 
p, 828. 

II Nlohola bin, roL t, part I, i<. ljc— n*7. 
/Lrobjoologlftj vol. 20, i». MU, 



UA 



things innumerable.? The agency of witches 
and other invisible powers of a malignant 
nature, was indeed the perpetual theme and 

terror of our remote ancestors, who used 
amulets, rings, bells, and exorcisms, to pro- 
tect them from the supposed danger. The 
Romish Priests, for evident, reasons, en- 
couraged the delusion — a curious specimen of 
their craft is inserted in the appendix.** 

On a brass plate near the small South door 
of the Church, and against the wall of it, is 
this inscription : — 

" Tlie jacet spe resurrectionis Elizabeth 
Uxor Francisci Popeley Generosi — Mulier 
singulari Virtute — dnas reliquit Filias — 
Monumentum hoc Maritus posuit charissimre 
memoriae pia3 conjugis — Obiit tricessimo die 
Mensis Decembris, Anno. 1632." 

On each side of the figure of this Mrs. 
Popeley, cut in brass, are those of her two 
daughters, kneeling in the attitude of prayer. 
" These kind of representations," says Mr. 
Gough, in his capital work, the " Sepulchral 
Monuments," "did not commence till after 
the Reformation ;" but with due deference to 
so respectable an authorit} r , I remember well 
to have found an instance under Henry the 
7th's reign, and I doubt not my ability to 
refer to it when more at leisure. 

The only tomb in the interior of the Church 
which I shall notice, has the following in- 
scription : — 

u Hie compositi Cineres Johannis Batt, 
nuper de Oakwell, in Agro Eboracensi 
Armigeri qui 6 t0 - I damn Junii, Anno. Eera3 
Christianas, 1707, setatis 43 tis - morti occubuit." 
This John, the last male of this family, is the 
only one of whom meution is made in the 
burial place. A strange circumstance, indeed, 
when the pedigree, wealth, connections, and 
consequence of that family is considered. I 
can only draw the inference from it which I 
have arrived at, as touching the Copleys of 
Batley. 

There is one curiosity connected with 
Birstal Church which I cannot pass over in 
silence, though other antiquaries have done 
so, being probably unacquainted with its 
former uses, and the design with which it 
was built ; 1 mean that singular ancient Shed 
which is at the South West entrance of the 

•f See the Gent.'s Mag. for 1792, 1703, 1S0C. 1S07, 1811, etc. 
Qoagh'fl BepnlchL Moms. vol. 1, p. 189. Fosbroke, vol. 1. ]>. 
882 128. Wliitakur's Whallcy, vol. 2, v. 886. Arch;<:ol. vol. 
16, p. 110. I have authorities for all these things— too many 
to quote. 

*' See Appendix, No. 4. 



Church-yard, surmounted with balls and 
stands. This, I would inform the reader, is 
an ancient Lich or Corpse-Gate, of which I 
saw two specimens last year, in Westmore- 
land and Cumberland; but, generally speak- 
ing, they are very great rarities now-a-days. 
The word Lich is the Saxon* word for corpus 
or body, hence Lichfield, which signified 
the field of corpse or dead bodies. At 
these Sheds or Corpse-Gates, in Catholic 
times, the corpses were set down and the 
mourners rested under a covering, which was 
designed, no doubt, to protect them against 
rain and heat ; for which latter purpose too, 
there were anciently trees near the place. 
Here the Minister, who was so directed by 
the Rubric, met the corpse at the " entrance 
of the Church-yard."^ 

The private or foot-path entrances into 
Church-yards, in ancient times, was generally 
by a Turnstile,! and I question whether the 
Lich-Gate was ever without one. In the 
accounts of the Churchwardens of St. Mary's, 
Leicester, given by Mr. Nicholls, (I think) 
we have this entry. 

" Paid for a board (or plank) for a Turn- 
stile, 4d." Sketches of these Lich-Gates 
and Turnstiles the reader may find in Mr. 
Hone's "Table Book," vol. 1, p. 417. Vol. 
2, p. 271. I have only to add further on 
this subject my hopes, that the future Vicars 
and Churchwardens at Birstal, will never 
allow their little antique and curious Lich- 
Gate to be demolished, to make way, per- 
chance, for a pair of clumsy, unappropriate 
farm-yard posts, such as we now see at 
Beeston, in the place of a fine arch, which 
was the only ornament of that village. 

From Burton's Monastacon, it appears, 
that William de Wartre, the fourteenth Prior 
of Nostel, and who died in 1291, purchased 
the advow r son of this Church, which was a 
Rectory belonging to the patronage of the 
family of the Tyllys, till the 3rd of February, 
1280. Master Thomas de Dalton, then 
Rector, w^ith the consent of Robert Tylly, 
patron thereof, presented Ralph Liversedge 
to the Vicarage of the same, which Wick- 
wam, Archbishop of York, ordered to be taxed 
as Burton specifies; but on the 25th of 

•See Notes to Bosworth's Grammar, p. 104; Fosbroke's 
Encyclopedia, and the Gentleman's Magazine for 1804, p. 740. 

t Bishop Sparrow, in his " Rationale upon the Book of 
Common Prayer," says "The Priest meeting the corpse at 
the Church stile," &c p. 305. 

t As an antiquary I feel rather alarmed, perceiving that the 
stonemason is "abroad" at Birstal; as may be seen by the 
gatc-posta on the North side of the Burial-ground. 



141 



September, 1300, Thomas Corbridge, Arch- 
bishop of York, appropriated it to the 
Prior and Convent of Nostel, who, of 
course, held this living till the dissolution of 
Monasteries. Some of the foundations of 
houses once inhabited by these " religious " 
can be still traced, and certain closes still 
called " Monk Ings," of about twenty acres 
extent, still attest their former residence, 
near Birstal. 

I cannot quit this parish without noticing a 
spot which will be interesting as long as 
science, literature, and individual worth shall 
be respected — I mean " Field-head." Here, 
in a miserable room twelve feet six inches 
long, by six feet six inches wide, and the 
same about in height, having but a single 
small window, leaded, and glazed with little 
diamond " quarrels," was born the celebrated 
Dr. Priestley— celebrated, I say, but not 
merely so in his own country, like many of 
our eminent men, but celebrated for his dis- 
coveries, his talents, and his learning, through- 
out the civilized world. It is not for me to 
write of the Doctor and his times, but I 
would refer my readers, with some solicitude, 
to the narrative of the last illness of this 



illustrious man, as published by his son. To 
me it has always appeared to be distinguished 
from any scene of the kind I ever read of. 
It seemed more like the exit of a patriarch 
than of a modern. For dignity, it reminded 
one of a Jacob ; for philosophy, of a Socrates 
or Plato; for piety and resignation, of a 
Stephen. He called his children and grand- 
children around his bed, directed that a 
chapter in St. John's Gospel should be read, 
accosted them in the most elevated and 
affecting manner, and expired as one having 
" a good hope through faith." He abandoned 
no principles — he manifested no presumption 
— he betrayed no fears — he expressed no 
regrets for any wilful errors of his past life 
— nor is this at all surprising ; for who ever 
heard of an accusing conscience where no 
guilt upbraids ? who ever heard of the death- 
bed repentance of a dying saint ? who ever 
heard of a man, like Priestley, deserting 
opinions so acquired,|| so matured, so settled, 
and and so consolatory ? 



||Dr. Priestley's parents and family were all of the Calvan- 
istic persuasion, and he was carefully educated in those 
principles, but he soon renounced them. Much sooner than 
the celebrated Robert Robinson, who preached his last 
sermon in the Doctor's pulpit. 



GILDER SOME 



Etymologies are sometimes far fetched and 
absurd, — sometimes ludicrous. The reader 

will not, I trust, consider mine so in regard 

to the word Gildersome, as I am not without 
vanity in my present conjectures. 

Gildersome, as I take it, should be written 
Guelderzoom. It is a Dutch word. — Zoom, 
in that language signifies hem or seam, and 
metaphorically, a border or boundary. 
Guelderzoom, therefore, when properly trans- 
lated, signifies nearly the same as if the word 
be construed Gueldersham ; that is, it means 
the village boundary or district of Guelders. 
Now, to prove the corruption of this word 
— to show the reader that the word Gulder- 
zoom would, in England, be certainly con- 
verted into Gueldersome, I refer him to 
Stowe's Annals, for instance, where, in page 
1224, he will find that the word Bergen-op- 
Zooml" is written Bergen-ap-Some. Here, 
then, is a convincing proof that the termina- 
tion "Some," has been Zoom. — Now then 
for the " Guelders." 

No word like Gildersome occurs in Domes- 
day Survey of these parts. The term clearly 
sprang up at a far later period, and may, 
perhaps, owe its origin to persecution for 
conscience sake ; for, although we find from 
history, that two weavers from Brabant, 
settled at York, 1331, which Edward the 3rd 
accounted " of great benefit to himself and 
his subjects ;" and although trade was evi- 
dently upon the advance in our cities and 
chief towns, especially from this period :* yet 
to the persecutions of the Protestants in the 
low countries, especially by the Duke of Alva, 
and the fortunate encouragement of them by 
Elizabeth, we owe the chief population and 
trade; of those spots in this vicinity, which 
have at length become large villages. I take 
it, therefore, that Gildersome was first called 
from these emigrant traders, who here found 
on asylum, Hying from Guelderland, about 
the year L571, or souk; time before it. 

•|I'.crgcn-nj)-Zoom is the hill upon the Znom (i.e.) boundary 
or border. Bee the Gentleman's Magazine for 17-17, pag< 

I take] the liberty to refer here to R I miall Tract which [ pub- 
lished last year, OH " Ancient Bridges and Chantry Chapels 
upon them," and which f flatter myself, may amuse au 

antiquary who has not pees it, 



I am only aware of one objection to this, 
my favourite hypothesis, and that relates to 
the period when these Guelders or Gelders 
settled here and gave the place its name. It 
is, however, an objection of some weight, 
and it long inclined me towards another 
etymology. 

" In the Coucher Book of Nostel," says 
Dr. Whitaker, fo. 344, " is a perambulation 
of the parish of Batley. The village of 
Courlewell," (Churwell) says this book, "is 
situated within the limits of the Church of 
Batley. — Secondly, the boundary of the 
parishes of Leeds and Batley, is described to 
be a certain river descending between the 
Wood of Farnley and the Wood of Gilders, 
(Gildersome) as far as the hospital of Beston." 

Guild signifies " a society or corporation 
— a company or fraternity,")" combined to- 
gether by orders and laws made among them- 
selves, and by the Prince's license ;" and a 
certain author will have it, as apparent from 
the ancient Guilds established for the manu- 
facture of woollen cloth, that this kingdom, 
in early times, greatly flourished in that art. 
Now, this society or fraternity were, un- 
doubtedly, Hollanders, and came from the 
part called Guelderland ; and the mention of 
such a people in the Coucher Book, written, 
if I mistake not, about Henry the 5th's reign, 
undoubtedly proves that they had settled at 
Gildersome, at a much earlier period than has 
been stated. A period, in fact not much 
later than Edward the 3rd's reign. 

In Thorpe's Catalogue of 1827, page 105, 
No. 1385, I find a book with this title. 
" Mary, of Nemmegen." "Here begynnith 
a lyttel story that was of a trewthe done in 
the lande of Gclde.rs.\ of a niayde that was 
named Mary, of Nemmegen, that was the 
Dyvel's paramoure by the space of seven 
yere long, &c. imprinted at Antwerpe." 

t " There was a Fraternity or Guild, in Richmond, 
founded to the praise of Cod, and honour of St. John Baptist, 

the ancient mode of forming a society of merchants of 
particular trades, before the plan of chartered companies in 
corporations was adopted." Clark-son's ltichmond, 225. 

I From a passage in Ellis's Letters, it seems evident, that in 
the time of Henry the Sth, a Dutchman was called a Odder 

— •• Geldroia," See yoI. 1, page 208, First Series, 






14.°, 



Some persons may, perhaps, imagine that 
these Guelders, Gelders, or Gilders, were not 
manufacturers, but Geldherds, who, as ap- 
pears from the Compotus of Bolton Abbey, 
were u Pastores sterilium aniinalium," — that 
is to say, a sort of graziers or servants to 
them; as tripherds, were keepers or over- 
lookers of goats ; calveherds, of calves ; 
cowherds, of cows ; lambherds, of lambs ; 
and shepherds, of sheep. This, however, 
is not my opinion, as I am fixed by the ter- 
mination " some," which I can make sense 
and consistency of by rendering it zoom, but 
nothing at all of, upon any other supposition. 

There is a place called Gildersbar, about 
six miles South East of Skipton, and in the 
parish of Addingham. Now bar or " bargh " 
in the ancieut Yorkshire language. is "a 
steep horseway," and whoever looks with 
the eye of an antiquary into a good map, 
will see that the name of Gildersbargh arose 
from the road, the " pack and prime " way, 
which these Guelders.§ with their packhorses 
and cloth, made in their journeys to the 
North, by Addingham and Skipton. 

Whatever sort of people the Guelders or 
clothiers of Gildersome were, under the reigns 
of the Plantagenets or the Tudors. it is 
evident to me that early in the seventeenth 
century, there were some very respectable 
and opulent families residing here. The 
Manuscripts, the Deeds, and other evidences 
before me, clearly discover this fact ; but, 
alas ! little more than the names of them 
have supplied me with the materials for 
history. The reader will remember a few 
of these names. The Greatheeds — the 
Smiths — the Crowthers — the Reyners — and 
the Dickensons — to whom may be added, 
the Hargreaves — the Websters — the Tar- 
boltons — the Woods — and the Scots. I 
shall say little of the present inhabitants, nor 
yet of the " life and fortune " men of Gilder- 
some, of the latter pail of the Last century 
— of j>eople whose political and religious 
opinions bore an affinity to those of the old 
natives. No ! It is of the soldiers of Crom- 



§ " Warburton says that many of the weavers in Oueen 
Elizabeth's days, were Flemish Calvinlsta, who fled from the 
persecutions of the Duke of Alva, and were particularly 
given to singing Psalms, {fare's Glossary Art. " Weavers." 

•' In 1886, Edward 3rd introduced the Dutch, who 
were masters in the manufactory of curious drapery. 
l'rior to this, our countrymen knew no more what to do with 
wool, than the sheep that wear it. their best clothes I. 
better than freezes. Fuller b. 4, p 8 

On mature reflection, lam of opinion that theGuelders 
settled at Gildersome, in this reign of Edward the 3rd, or soon 
after 



well, of Fairfax, or of Lambert, that I would 
write — of men who fought and bled for the 
liberties of their country, and filled the world 
with the fame of British valour and patriotism. 
It was in their day that Pym and Hampden — 
Falkland and Selden — Vane and Cromwell 
sat on benches, in the House of Commons. 
It was to such men as these that the most 
learned Foreigners and impartial Historians 
alluding, have said, that " the English of the 
times of Marlborough, even, were no more 
to be compared to them, than the Monks, and 
the Cardinals of Koine were to the ancient 
Scipios." These, then, are families whom it 
is not beneath the dignity of history to 
mention, since, owing to the generous efforts, 
the disinterested sacrifices of such as they, 
the Parliamentary army, " out of weakness, 
was made strong," — " waxed valiant in fight, 
and put to flight the armies of the Aliens. j] 

In these most interesting times — the times 
of the Commonwealth and Protectorate — 
there was no disagreement of an} 7 kind among 
the natives of this village. Such as were the 
people of Morley. such also were those of 
Gildersome. Their religion, their habits, 
occupations, and sentiments were alike, and 
they were all united in one fold, under the 
Puritan Pastor at Morley. There was then 
no Church, Chapel, or Public Meeting at 
Gildersome, but the inhabitants came hither 
on the Sabbath-day, on horseback or on foot, 
over narrow, rugged roads, or miry footpaths, 
with surprising regularity. 

The first division in religious concerns at 
Gildersome was occasioned by a few Quakers 
who established a society here in the early 
part of Charles the 2nd's reign. Next came 
the Anabaptists, who built a small Meeting- 
Plouse, about the year 1717, — then followed 
the Churchmen, who about 177 1 erected a 
Chapel with a front* like the face of a stone 
quarry, and with angles in abundance; one 
of the ugliest buildings <>t" \\< kind, perhaps, 

in the kingdom, but once tolerably lightsome 
within. Last of all came the Methodists, 

who but a very few years ago have sprang 

up in this village. 

The most, ancient housesin Gildersome are, 
evidently, of the reign of Charles 2d. One of 

|| Besides placemen, p I other stipeadiariee, it 

appears that the " Popish Queen" of Charles the i-t, brought 
overman; Foreign cut-thi igland, and plenty 

of ammunition but. on ier, most of them met 

with their de i 

Perhaps, it may !>«■ said, that the side next the road u th« 
back part— be it so.— This is the part 1 alhulo to. 



144 



them, and that not the oldest, has over its 
doorway the inscription "Henry Scott, 1G85." 
This man, as I find from a copper token 
which, fortunately, ifl mine, was iii the wool 
or woollen trade. His coin has on its obverse 
side ••Henry Scott, Gildersnm, neer," in an 
outward circle, — and in the inner a pair of 
scales with the words " strike light — weigh 
right." On the reverse side and outer circle 
is, " Leeds I will exchange my peny " — the 
inner circle shows a woolpack, with the date 
1670. I do not suppose that this token was 
generally payable at Leeds, but at Gilder- 
some, "neer" Leeds, though Scott may 
possibly have had a drysalters or wool- 
stapler's warehouse at both places. 

It was at one of these ancient houses, still 
standing, and situate between Gildersome- 
Hall and the house of Mr. Hudson, but much 
nearer to the latter, that the Quakers held 
their first meetings. Afterwards they re- 
moved to a Meeting somewhere in view of 
the Hall; but this being regarded as a 
nuisance by a Mr. Maude, then owner of this 
house, he proffered, I believe, to build them 
a Meeting, or give them sufficient land near 
it, on condition of their giving up the pro- 
perty so near his. This proposal they 
accepted, and once more shifted to the retired 
situation which they now occupy. 

There are some things so singular in the 
conduct of this eccentric people that I cannot 
forbear to notice them. The first relates to 
their former Burial-ground, which may be 
seen enclosed and long planted all over with 
trees on the side of the Leeds and Elland 
Road, between Morley and Bruntcliffe. How 
they came to fix upon this place of sepulture, 
remote as it is from Gildersome, nobody, per- 
haps, now living can tell — for my own part I 
can only resolve it into one of those whimsies 
which I am about to mention. 

This Burial-ground, of whomsoever pur- 
chased, was conveyed to the Quakers by 
William Midgley, William Cundall, and John 
Sutton, clothiers, all of Morley, by Deeds of 
Lease and Re-lease, dated the 8th and 9th of 
September, 1681) ; and the Quakers, with the 
approbation, no doubt, if not license of George 
Fox and their other leaders, now put up stones 
or laid slabs, with the inscriptions to the 
memory of their departed brethren. But this 
was a practice too conformable to the ideas 
and feelings of allf other people to be long 
endured. When it was abandoned I never 
could ascertain accurately, but that it took 



place near the beginning of the eighteenth 
century appears probable. In their present 
Burial-ground, which they have held seventy 
or eighty } r ears back, the Quakers do not 
seem to have laid a single stone for the pur- 
pose of memorial — I say for the purpose of 
memorial, or as a tribute of affection, or 
respect to the memory of departed relatives, 
because they have laid gravestones, and but a 
few years ago. Yes, reader! — they have 
removed the slabs from the old cemetery, 
near Morley, and such of them as are not 
broken to pieces, or studiously and carefully 
put out of sight, you may chance to find in a 
pantry or a cellar, or turned edgeways for the 
edging of a causeway, as though their delight 
was, not only to baffle all future researches, 
but to stifle every tender and sentimental 
feeling. 

Two of these stones, however, have, by 
accident, been seen lately, by myself, having 
been preserved, from thrifty and penurious 
motives. One of them, a cellar stone, bears 
the date 1696, — the other just eligible ex- 
hibits, above ground, the figures 1667. The 
names of the deceased were beyond my ken. 
To me, it is evident, that there has been, and 
still is, a design to suppress the record of such 
memorials having ever been sanctioned 
amongst the Quakers. 

What could be the motive of this people 
for abandoning one of their first usages, if it 
has not been declared before, it is difficult to 
conceive or ascertain, as they are, from 
ignorance or from policy, remarkably cos- 
tive in their speech, and usually ask a question 
when they should return an answer. Few of 
them, I believe, know the true reason ; and 
for others they do not choose to converse on 
certain topics of their peculiar persuasion, 
because, peradventure, they understand the 
value of mystery as well as other orthodox 
people. The only reply which I have ever 
obtained is this stupid one, " We pay no 
honour to any." 

It would be folly to say anything about 
" Tribute to whom Tribute," &c. to those 
who, like other " Elect" people, are favoured 
by heaven with more visitations or extra- 
ordinary impulses than some of the wisest 
and best of men have ever pretended to enjoy ; 
but one would really be happy to learn what 

t Even the Moravians put down small stones with initials 
and some little more. Thus they put M. S. or S. S. for 
married or single sister ; but they might as well do with- 
out any memorials, for any other information which the 
stone* convey. 



L45 



impropriety there is in putting- a name and a 
date upon a plain stone? if the voice of 
flattery was ever yet known to reach " the 
still cold ear of death ?" if the kindliest feel- 
ings of man were better extinguished than 
encouraged ? if the worst construction should 
be put upon an act which may not merely be 
innocent, but laudable ? In a word, if the 
argument of abuses arising out of uses, (the 
great fallacy of these folk) was ever worth 
a straw? Whatever be the case, if these 
people would but immitate Fox in fasting-s, 
in solitude, and other austerities, we should 
be better able to appreciate their consistanc} T , 
whatever might be thought of their under- 
standings. 

The Catholic religion and the system of 
Wesley, appear to me to be founded on the 
most crafty policy — in the deepest knowledge 
of human nature ; of which quackerism, on 
the other hand, betra} T s the most contemptible 
ignorance. It seems fitted neither for the 
savage nor the sage — for the clown — or the 
philosopher. It is a desert in which we 
meet with nothing, whatever, to elevate the 
mind — satisfy the ear — captivate the eye — 
kindle the affections — delight the fancy, or 
to sum up all in a single phrase, take pos- 
session of the heart. That it should have 
existence at the present day, can only be 
accounted for from the common attachment 
of children to the sentiments of their fore- 
fathers, and a love of singularity, from which 
other people, besides Quakers, are not 
exempt. 

It would suit my own inclination better, 
perhaps, than that of some readers for whose 
sakes I abstain, were I to shew the influence 
which Quakerism would have 'upon society, 
were it generally prevalent ; rather let me be 
indulged with extracts from high authorities. 

" It cannot be expected," says Neale, 
"that such an unsettled people should have 
an uniform system of rational principles. 
Their first and chief design, if they had any, 
was to reduce all revealed religion to allegory; 
and, because some laid too great stress upon 
rites and ceremonies, these would have neither 
order, nor regularity, nor stated seasons of 
worship, but all must arise from the inward 
impulse of their spirits. Agreeably to this 
rule, they declared against all sorts of settled 
Ministers; against people's assembling in 
Steeple- Houses ; against fixed times of public 
devotion; and, consequently, against the 
observation of the Sabbath. Their own 



meetings were occasional, and, when they 
met, one or another spake as the^y were 
moved from within, and sometime; they de- 
parted without any one being moved to 
speak at all. The doctrines they delivered 
were as vague and uncertain as the principles 
from which they acted. They denied the 
scriptures to be the only rule of their faith, 
calling it a ' dead letter,' and maintaining 
that every man had a light within himself, 
which was a sufficient rule. They denied the 
received doctrines of the Trinity and the 
Incarnation — disowned the Sacraments of 
Baptism, and the Lord's Supper ; nay, some 
of them proceeded so far as to deny (using 
their own language.) a Christ, without them, 
or at least, to place more of their dependance 
upon a Christ within." " They spake little or 
nothing," sa} T s Baxter, " upon depravity of 
nature, about the covenant of grace ; about 
pardon of sin or reconciliation with God, or 
about moral duties ; but the disturbance they 
gave to the public religion for some years, 
was so insufferable, that the Magistrates 
could not avoid punishing them as disturbers 
of the peace ; though of late, they have be- 
come a more sober and inoffensive people, and 
b} r the wisdom of their managers have formed 
themselves into a sort of body politic, and in 
general are very worthy members of society." 

It appears, from Burton's Parliamentary 
Diary, that during the Protectorate of Crom- 
well, •• a petition to his Highness and the 
Parliament, was presented from the Justices 
of the Peace. Ministers, and others, well- 
principled inhabitants of Leeds. ^Wakefield, 
Bradford, &C.* They represented, that these 
populous places and parts adjacent are, and 
for a long time past have been, miserably 
perplexed, and much dissettled by that unruly 
sect of people, called Quakers, whose principles 
are to overturn Magistracy, Ministry, Ordin- 
ances, all that which good men would keep 
up by their prayers and endeavours. The 
approved Ministers of the nation they deny 
to be Ministers of Christ. The Ordinances 
used in our public assembles arose," say they, 
" from the bottomless pit — sermons, the in- 
vention of fallen man and their traditions. 
It is these men's common practice to meet by 
hundreds m. or near to our places of public 
worship, on purpose to disturb the Preacher 
and people assembled : causing, and speaking 
all manner "f evil against those things that 

Can anything be mora inminciiiK and unexceptionable 
than such a document *-> toll " 



146 



all sober minds deem good, to the great terror 
of some, and no small trouble to other 
Ministers."* 

I should not have noticed these matters so 
much at length, but that I find these same 
people are much in the habit of abusing 
Cromwell, merely because he restrained their 
insolence, and have the effrontery to talk 
about their " sufferings " under his govern- 
ment. I am determined therefore to "serveup*' 
in true colours, the characters of their forefathers. 

The present Anabaptist Meeting-House, 
was built about fifty years ago, when Mr. 
Ashworth was the Minister. At this time 
there lived at the house now occupied by Mr. 
Buttrey, in Gildersome Street, a man, whom 
I well remember, and who, from his business 
was called " Painter Watson." This man 
was employed to paint the Chapel ; and 
being equally vain of his abilities, and emu- 
lous to astonish the natives, he so decorated 
the ceiling with angels, and archangels, cheru- 
bims, and seraphims, that if the Baptists had 
but possessed the feelings of their painter, 
they might certainly have enjoyed on the 
next Sabbath, some kind of foretaste of 
celestial bliss. Unluckily, however, for the 
painter, their ideas were of a grosser kind 
than his ; for their sudden introduction into 
a society so new ; or the wish for a little 
preparation or respite; or the dread of 
ridicule from others, or some other reason, 
which the artist, at least, could never imagine: 
one thing or other so overcame them, that on 
the day of assembling they were, not trans- 
ported, but thunderstruck, and the celestial 
choir were banished by a rude whitewasher. 

In a former page, I mentioned the inter- 
ment of an old Pastor of this flock, of the 
name of Booth, at Morley, but knew little 
respecting him at that time. He was, I 
believe, a woollen cloth manufacturer as well 
as minister, and received his salary in part, 
in so curious a way that I will mention it, just 
to show the simple manners of our country- 
men only eighty years ago. 

About this time the spimiing of wool was 
done by the hand, but already had machinery 
for this purpose come into use ; and a person 
at Huddersfield by means of it did much work 
all the country round. Now spinners were as 
necessary to Mr. Booth in his trade as 
auditors were to his ministry, and if this 
worthy man tended the fold on the Sabbath, 
giving his "charge " two or three of Bishop 

* Dairy, page 442. See Godwin's History of the Common- 
wealth, vol. 4,page 313. 



Tilson's "good fotherings," and probably 
working with his " flail" at other times, it 
surely was but reasonable that he should enjoy 
his " hire," or an equivalent. Now as some 
of his people were too poor to pay in money, 
and some could not spin wool, as well at 
least, perchance, as the Parson could his 
texts, they remunerated him in what was 
called " Spinner's siller," — that is to say, they 
allowed him so much out of their collections 
as would pay for the spinning of his wool at 
Huddersfield. 

As Mr. Booth was not only a sensible but 
a very excellent man — one who delighted in 
peace and amity, and was regarded by all 
denominations as the common pacificator in 
his village : and, as his auditory was not 
great, I really believe they had " the better 
of the bargain" in retaining him; although 
it is doubtful whether with the ' ; spinner's 
silver" he would have made "ends meet," 
had he not, with another Minister, supplied 
alternately at Rawden. It was this circum- 
stance which led to his being interred at 
Morley ; for, to prevent any altercation 
between the two " Churches," he directed 
his remains to brought to Morley, unwilling 
to show any preference between those whom 
he sincerely loved. Between Mr. Booth and 
Mr. Aired, I have reason to think, there was 
the same cordiality which has ever subsisted 
between the Baptists and Presbyterians. 

The Chapel of the establishment at Gilder- 
some was erected through the instrumentality 
of a Mr. Turton, who lived at the NewhalL 
and of a Mr. Sharp. These families have 
long left Gildersome. Mrs. Sharp was sister 
to the late celebrated Mr. Hey, of Leeds, — a 
gentleman whom I can never think on with- 
out those feelings which are befoie expressed. 

To return again to the subject of the old 
houses, the most ancient one, as it appears to 
me, is that nearly opposite this Chapel. It 
was, certainly, built either by Major General 
Greatheed or by his son Samuel; but I 
believe by the latter. The barn and buildings, 
however, behind it being much more ancient, 
were probably erected by the Major, as he 
lived hereabouts in the Civil War. The wood 
also, at a little distance, still called "the 
Major's spring,"* was certainly his sometime 

* There is to this [day an opinion, at Gildersome, and it 
raged during the last century, that the old Major's spirit 
walks by night hereabouts. This is preposterous ; for if any 
spirit were sent to this world it would be for a good purpose, 
and none would be half so likely to be commissioned as the 
Major's immortal contemporaiy, " Oliver." 



147 



before 1648. Whether it has been " Silva 
pastura" (Native Wood) and part of the 
Wood of Gilders cannot now be determined, 
but at this period it is said to have been in 
. extent six acres. In an early age, I presume, 
from the woody skirts and coppices which lie 
to the Eastward of it, that they constituted, 
with Farnley Wood, one vast forest, divided 
only by the rivulet, which is noticed both by 
Hollinshed and by the Nostel Manuscript. 

The Old Hall was built by one of the Dick- 
inson family.| It is a house of no great 
antiquity, evidently displaying more of the 
clumsy architecture of William the 3rd's 
reign than of any other. 

The finest house, incomparably, which 
Gildersome ever had in it, was the house of 
Mr. John Smith, formerly mentioned, and 
which was pulled down in 1748 to make way 
for an insignificant dwelling occupied now bj' 
widow Halstead. The out-buildings which 
were appurtenant to the old mansion still 
remain, as is the most curious, ancient bed- 
stead I ever beheld. Besides a variety of 
allegorical figures upon its cornices, there are 
cut upon the backboard and panels, in fine 
relief, the figures of the Apostles, of Christ, 
and of his Mother. This, which was but one 
of the fine bedsteads of Mr. Smith, who died 
in 1643, or of his son, the Trustee of Morley 
Chapel, in 1650, is believed to have belonged 
to Major Greatheed,:f and by his daughter 
Alice it may, certainly, have got into the 
Smith family. 

The property of the Smiths was finely 
situated, commanding, amongst other objects, 
a beautiful view of Leeds and of the adjoin- 
ing villages. It was well wooded. One of 
the noblest oak trees I ever beheld was lately 
cut down near the house. It was memorable 
as having been the oak to which Mr. Wood, 
a former owner of the property, fled from a 
bull of his own, which suddenly turned 
furious and killed him upon the spot; and it 
was at this time, and consequent upon this 
event, that the annual feast or wake was 
established at Gildersome. 

Not many years back there were in this 
village several cottages of the early and 
middle part of the seventeenth century, which 
have now disappeared. They were none of 
them built upon the plan of Slack's cottage 

t "I and H. D." that is, John and Hannah Dickinson, are 
upon the front. 

t The family tradition is, that this was Major Greatheed's 
bedstead. Any one, however, may see that some considerable 
person has occupied it. 



at Morley, but all of them were like the cot- 
tage on Adwalton Moor. 
, I regret, exceedingly,' the destruction of 
these cottages — they contributed something 
to the village in a picturesque view — they 
told a tale of other times — they were con- 
secrated by recollections which threw a veil 
over their " inelegance" Lowly, unpretending, 
and inexpensive, but firm and independent, 
like their first owners, long did they triumph 
over the pelting storm and ' the wintry blast. 
They arose in an age in which pauperism 
was relieved, not by eight millions in the 
year, but by a few thousands ; when labourers 
were, perhaps, poorer, but much more con- 
tented, happy, and grateful than they are 
now — when the thoughts of a poorhouse was 
more dreadful than is that of the treadmill — 
when the peace of a neighbourhood was 
seldom disturbed by wanton injuries and 
private malice — when liberty was more dear 
than life. 

It was during this sera of grandeur and 
national glory that Tradesmen's tokens were 
first seen : I have a fine collection of these 
old monies, yet I can but find Henry Scott 
issuing them here, and Richard Chester at 
Batley. From what I have seen, however, 
it appears that each of our neighbouring 
villages had its little mint. 

The privilege of coining these copper half- 
pennies, Mr. Drake says, was obtained under 
" the Usurpation;* which, at first sight, does 
not seem improbable, as in fact the most real 
liberty was enjoyed, and the best deeds were 
done in those days; but, unfortunately for 
his credit, they appear to have been current 
a few years earlier. Another malignant, 
possessing the spirit without the talents of 
Drake, and admitting that they were issued 
in 1649, says — "it shews that the patriots of 
those days gave this as one proof of release 
from the royal prerogative." 

In a former page I made a remark which 
cannot be too often repeated — namely, that 
it is one of the low and common artifices of 
men of the cavalier spirit and principles, to 
confound with the transactions of the Pro- 
tectorate those of other times; and when 
they cannot revile Cromwell, their shift is to 
revile the Government which preceded his. 
In order to shew them up once more I will 
trespass on the reader's indulgence for a few 
moments. 

*On account of this expression, I am not'sorry that Drake got 
well bitten by one of his own squad, See Gent, 's Mag. vol. 
99. p. 516. 



us 



Oopper coins, wo are told, were Bret struck 
iii the reign of Elizabeth, and that those of 
her successor were put into circulation, my 
own collection shows. Bui the two first 
Stuarts, at Least, were not, on some account 
Of oilier, very partial to this coinage; and 
we have, therefore, 



little from their mints 



beside gold and silver. Wretched pieces ! 
not at all superior to the niill'd money of the 
last Tudor. It was, in fact, reserved to the 
Protectorate of Cromwell to exhibit a coinage 
as Far superior to theirs as was his character 
and government. 

But after the death of Charles the 1st, the 
period arrived in which a copper coinage 
became not only necessary, but indispensable ; 
for, by the celebrated Navigation Act and 
other wise measures of the Republic, so great 
a stimulus was given to commerce, that trade 
could no longer be carried on without this 
most necessary medium ; and it Avas, there- 
fore, most kindly and considerately permitted 
to the people by " the Patriots of those days " 
to apply a remedy of their own, to a notorious 
disease. 

That some benefit accrued to the nation 
from the issue of these Tradesmen's tokens, 
will perhaps be admitted, as they were not 
suppressed before 1G72; that is to say, till 
about twelve years after the Restoration of 
the "legitimate" Charles — a circumstance 
which, of itself, shows that the people of 
these later da}\s never dreamt of their having 
been issued for any purpose but that of trade ; 
and, least of all things, as a proof of any 
" release from the royal prerogative." 

In my youthful days I perfectly remember 
the quarrels, the losses, and general incon- 
venience which resulted from the sad state 



both of the silver and copper coinage, but 
especially of the latter. A large proportion 
of what was then circulated was base money. 
and much of the rest might well excite the 
enquiry, •• whose image and superscription is 
this ? " 

It is not for me to state why these plain 
bits of copper and silver were so long 
tolerated, but merely to say, that from about 
1787 to the close of the century, there was 
once more a considerable issue of Tradesmen's 
coin. As to the policy of sanctioning such 
issues, and still less those of country notes I 
make no remark ; the fact alone concerns 
me that such a currency was allowed. 
Now, as to "Patriotism," with reference 
either to the present, or past age. or any 
other age, I would not insult the Republicans 
of the seventeenth century, by a comparison 
which would degrade them ;* but, as the 
same thing has happened in our day as did 
in theirs, one may surely be allowed to 
imagine that the tradesmen of each century, 
have put forth tokens from the same necessity 
and motives, and nobody but a contemptible 
sycophant and time-server would insinuate to 
the contrary. 

On this subject I have only one thing more 
to state, which is that in 1720, that is about 
the time of the South Sea Bubble, the people 
of Ireland were so inconvenienced for want of 
a copper coinage, that tickets of tin or leather 
were used by the chief manufacturers to pay 
their workmen's wages. 

v I could adduce innumerable proofs of this, but will only 
mention one, which the reader may rind as touching the 
character of Ireton. in Ludlow's Memoirs, or those of the late 
0. Cromwell, Esq. , vol. 2, p. 209. He may also imagine what 
a fine character Henry Ciomwell was, from what Noble 
relates of him, vol. 1, p. 271. " I will rather," said he, " sub- 
mit to any sufferings with a good name, than be the greatest 
man upon earth without it." 



CHURWELL 



This village of Churwell, or as it should be 
written,! Churlewell, has evidently taken its 
name from its well known spring of water, 
being the common resort of churles — that is, 
peasantry. 

" Cfanrle upon thy eyes I throw 

All the pow r this charm doth owe." — Shdkspeare. 
" From this light cause th' infernal maid prepares 

The country churls to mischief, hate, and wars."— 

Dryden. 

It is called, indeed, in the Nostel Coucher 
Book, the village of " Courlewell," as before 
is mentioned. 

Of Churwell, as of many other villages, it 
may be truly said, that however it may have 
increased in size, it has decreased in respect- 
ability since the seventeenth century. This is 
partly evidenced by written documents, and 
partly by remains of the architecture of that 
age. We look in vain now-a-days for the 
Pickerings — the Brookes — the Burnhills — the 
Iloldsworths — and such other families as 
these. Here, no doubt, was born Mr. 
Pickering, the ejected Minister and Pastor of 
Morley " Old Chapel." Here also lived Mr. 
Josias Brooke, an attorney, as I believe, in 
some practice during the Civil War. In my 
family papers he is styled clarke, which in 
its primary sense signifying clergyman 
(according to the dictionaries then in use) I 
was at first led to conclude him to have been 
a Minister of religion, but am now c jnvineed 
of my mistake. There is at Churwell one 
specimen of the architecture of Elizabeth's 
reign, in a part of the buildings occupied by 
Mr. Morris, a respectable tanner, on which 
we find a date of 1G04 still remaining. 

Before quitting this place, as the custom is 
generally prevalent in all our neighbouring 
villages. I take occasion to supply an article 
which ought to have been remembered when 
writing on Morley. The practice 1 allude i<> 
is that of singing at funeral-. 

There is something in this rite 80 savage 



t The original word, which appears to be " Ceorl," i> Saxon 
and signified a farmer. " By the laws of Atlnl -tan it un- 
declared that if ;i Ceorl .should' have full proprietorship of live 
hides of land, a church and kitchen, a '<<" noil* , a burgbgate 
seat, and an appropriate office in the king's hall, lie ihould 
thenceforth be a Thane by right." 

There is a Kiver Chcrwcll in Oxfordshire which, doubtlc. - 
ha? taken its name from the same source. 



and so shocking to every person of reflection 
and sensibility, that one might reasonably 
enough conclude it borrowed from Heathens ; 
but, fortunately, we know it to have been so. 
This, unquestionably, is one among the many 
Pagan usages which the Catholic Church 
intermingled with Christian observances, in 
very early times, by way of more easily 
bringing over to Christianity the Northern 
Nations ; and not only them, peradventure, 
but even the polished Romans, who appear 
to have had women called Pneficaa.j whose 
office was to lament and sing the funeral 
song, or praises of the dead. This is the 
way in which, if my memory serves me, our 
celebrated navigators tell us the idolatrous 
nations still celebrate the obsequies of their 
departed chieftains; and. considered as an 
eulogy or tribute of respect to wisdom and 
valour, there seems nothing irrational in the 
exercise. It is the song of Avar and the 
season of exultation, and as grief and all the 
tender sympathies are absent, we should 
regard the chorus as altogether in character. 
Even Scripture enjoins that " if any one be 



merry, he shall 



psalms;" evidently 



telling us that singing and music are far more 
appropriate to the "house of mirth" than to 
that '• of mourning."* 

That this barbarous usage had crept into 
the Church at a very early! period there are 
many evidences ; but there is one which, for 
propriety of remark, and the rebuke it should 
afford my fellow-countrymen is so worthy of 
extraction, that I will here insert it. 

In a provincial council, held in Scotland, 
A.D. 1225. it was resolvedl] — That no Lay- 
man should sin-- at tin- burial or obsequies of 
the dead. " Item ad fnneia, et exequies 
Mortuorum Laicorum Cant us vel Choreaas 
fieri prohibemus, Cum Son deceal de aliorum 

fletU ridere* sed ibidem DOtiuS de hujUSmodi 

| idams's Antiquities, p 170. in Russia we are told by 

i;. Wilson, that there are usually ringing boys in attendance 

• Then was singing, i find, alio at the Conqueror's funeral, 

hut this w;i, only Bf Ute Monk~ BtOWe'S Ann.il-. \> ];.; 

Arohssologla, vol. IS, p. 19. 
"i "i have heard say," says Old Latimer, ''thai in some 
places then go with th«- eon) i girning and hearing, as though 

they wen' to ;t heir baiting, which fchUg, 110 d.o\ibt, is 

nought." Sermons, folio - 



150 



dolere." This prohibition implies if to have 
been a practioein that country, as it certainly 

was in England. 

If books were not generally written for the 
sake of gain, but for information — if it were 

not much easier to ropy that which has been 
copied a hundred times before, than to pub- 
lish the rarities and curiosities of literature, 

making a close application of the matter to 
what one sees existing- at the present day 
amongst Catholics, Protestants, and large 
bodies of Dissenters, we should have more 
authors of reputation and more books worth 
reading. But, alas ! such a work requires 
the ardour and curiosity of a Hutton — the 
patience and independence of a Gougli — the 
learning and talents of a Fosbroke. Ninety- 
nine out of every hundred authors could no 
more execute such a work, creditably, than a 
common blacksmith could make a watch. 
Besides this, there is one other capital dis- 
couragement — it would offend the " Catholic." 
the "Evangelical," and other "Orthodox" 
people not a little. Seeing, therefore, that 
the way to popularity and wealth does not lie 
in this track, and that fictions and piracies 
are more pleasant to the people and profitable 
to the pocket, let no man travel it, but he 
who would delight the antiquary and the 
scholar, and acquire for himself a posthumous 
fame. For the amusement, however, of the 
" knowing ones," I will, without any com- 
ment of my own. just present him with a few 
u seeds." 

The first is the account of the funeral of 
Sir Thomas Lovel, in 1524, whom it cost the 
Priests three days to bury. First it was 
ascertained by the astrologers.* that the day 
on which he died, being the 25th of May, 
the dominical letter was B. Next he was 
embalmed and leaded, and taken to his 
Chapel, <»f Holy-well, where he remained 
eleven days, having masses and dirges sung} 
for hi ni every day. lie was next removed to 
his parish Church in great state. There the 
whole of (he procession " were regaled with 
comfits, spicebrede, and ippocras. %i % The 
remainder of the account of all this festivity 
— drinkings, singing, and pomp, the reader 
may find in Ly sons' e London, vol. 2. p. 296. 

Nothing material could then be done without consulting 
astrologers, to whom our Kings and great people were per- 
petuallj referring. 

I Adams's Antiquities, p. ir<;; Wilsons Arohfeological 
Dictionary, art. ''funerals, [bed, p. 186, etc. 

I Bippocras was s medicated drink composed of white <>r 
r^i wine, with the addition of sugar ana ipices, > 
•■'losinrj-. 



The next is the account of the interment 
of Lord Bray, in the same work, from which 
I select the following passages : — 

••Then Richemond, the Herald, bade the 
j trayer as followeth. For the soul of the 
Right Honorable John Brave. Knight, late 
Lord Bray, of your charytie, say a pater 
noster, cVc. and then the dijridge began. 
Which ended, mass of requiem began ; during 
which tyme at the syde awltre were dyvers 
masses said, and at magnificat, benedictus. 
After the gospell and et libera me, the person 
censynd§ the corps." 

Next followed the offerings of the masse\ 
pennies of gold and delivery of the arms of the 
deceased, laying them on the altar, kc. 
•• which offeryng finished, the sermond began 
by Father Peryne, a black Freer, whose 
anthem was Scio quia resurget in resurrectione 
in novissimo die. Whereupon he declared 
howe Chryste raised Lazarus from dethe, 
seying how he ivas a gentleman given to 
chyvalrie% fur the welthe of his countrege, and 
so he said that Nobleman that there lag deadv 
tvas. in whose commendation, among many 
other things, lie finished his sermonde ; which 
don, mass proceeded till St. John's Gospell 
that the banner and standard** were offergd, 
in which meane tyme 'et libera me," the 
morners departed to their bots, (boats) and so 
to London, to his seid house to dinner." 

In short, in 1541, it appears to have been 
the custom, at least, at the funerals of great 
people, to set down the body in the " quire," 
— to sing salmes. and read lessons. They 
then ; - offeryd into the almes boxe." and. 
after the mourners, others. A sermon was 
then preached and prayer made, in which the 
congregation joined. The corps was then 
buried, during which tvas sung te deuni. and 
the whole was concluded with good eating 
and drinking.]] 

To proceed much further with this subject 
were greatly to exceed the limits and design 
of this book ; I shall, therefore, commit these 
few hints to those who can understand them. 
Making no further observation upon the wild 
howl of the low Irish, or the worse than 
Indian yell of the orthodox Dissenters. 

i See Virg. JSneid 6 — 21$ and Note 'lis. 
Adams's Antiquities, i>. 172. 
■ [bid, p; 478— 480. 
Adams's antiquities, p. 477- 182. 
It was a maxim that no person should conic to Ood, " ne to 
the Kyng icitt a voydehond." olden Legend. 

H See account <>f the funeral of Catherine Pair, Archax)- 
logia, vol. 5, p. 286. 



151 



excepting this, that they have one common 
origin, and that is Pagan.Jt As to Heathen 
nations, however, I see no inconsistency in 
their singing the praises of their dead ; nor 
yet in Catholics singing their masses, and 
dirges, and requiems, as the practice is cor- 
respondent to their belief on particular points 
of doctrine ; but really I do not know what 

ft See Fosbroke's Ariconensia, who refers to Macrobius, 
etc., in Id. 2,-477 ; Strvpe's Annals of the Reformation, 
vol 1, p. 190. 



to make of singing or rather h >wling at 
funerals, among a people* who profess to be 

emancipated from Popery and Paganism; 
neither do I understand what their speaking 
of experiences comes from, but it is very 
much like auricular confession, clothed only 
in a more pharisaic and offensive dress. 

See Sanderson's Account of the differenc between the 
Presbyterians and Independents, in the Appendix to Arch- 
bishop Sancroft's Life. 



OOTTINGLEY-HALL, BEESTON, AND 

NEWHALL. 



NOT intending to commit to paper what 
others have printed, bnt merely to supply 
their omissions, I here present the reader 
with an account which, to the best of my 
belief, is only to be found in manuscript. 

Sir William Beeston, of Beeston. Knight, 
lived in the reigns of Edward the 2nd and 
3rd. In the fourth year of the former he 
obtained a grant of Free Warren, in Beeston, 
Cholewell, and Cottingley. lie had one-third 
of a Knight's fee, in Beeston, held of the 
Manor of Pontefract. His heir-at-law was 
Ralph. 

Robert Beeston, the son of Ralph, was 
born in 1490, and lived at Cottingley. He 
was buried the 23rd of April, 1566. His 
wife was Margaret, daughter of Sir William 
Calverley, of Calverley, whom he married the 
third year of Edward 6th. 

William Beeston, another son of Ralph, 
married a daughter of Gilbert Legh, of 
Middleton. His father gave four acres of 
meadow land, in Beeston, to Kirkstall Abbey. 
William left a son Ralph, who was buried 
at Leeds Old Church, in 1496. I can find no 
further mention of this family, except that 
William Beeston, Esq., with Sir John Miifield 
and Christopher Ward, Knight, were seized 
of lands amounting to a Knight's fee. in 
Morley, Beeston, and J) rigid in gton. 

Next to the Beeston s, the family of most 
consequence hereabouts appears to have been 
the Hodgsons, who, at length, succeeded them 
in some of their estates. In the year 1613, 
I find Christopher Hodgson, thentofore of 
Beeston, living at Newhall, which, probably, 
ho built. This Christopher was attorney to 
the Council in the North. He married 
Issabel, daughter of Henry Currer, of Holling 
Hall, Esq., and had two sons — John and 
Christopher. 

By deed of gift, in 1613, Christopher the 
father settled upon the youngest son, Christo- 
pher, Cottingley-* Grange, then in the posses- 



sion of Thomas Norcliffe, Esq., and other 
estate- near Middleton, in the possession of 
Henry Gascoign and Alexander Gourdon. 

John Hodgson, of Newhall, Esq., eldest 
son and heir of the last Christopher, married 
Elizabeth, sister of Sir George Radcliffe, and 
had issue, Christopher — John (a merchant at 
Leeds), Ann, Margaret, and Mary. John the 
elder, was baptized in 1601, became an 
Alderman of Leeds, buried his wife in 1648, 
and having taken up arms for Charles the 1st, 
agreeably to the politics of her family, he 
was fined in the sum of £340 — a very 
moderate fine, certainly, the fortune and con- 
nections of the man considered. 

To John succeeded his son Christopher, 
who also lived at Newhall, and had issue, 
Jonathan, who died S. P. — four daughters, 
and Christopher, a younger son. who lived at 
Cottingley. 

The children of this last Christopher were 
John, Christopher, and Frances, who married 
Mr. William Robinson. Curate of Beeston, 
and died in 1710. John had a large family 
of sons and daughters. His eldest son John, 
of Leeds, merchant, married Anne, daughter 
and heiress of Thomas Craven, Alderman of 
Ripon, who had issue by him, Thomas, bom 
the 2nd of June, 1710, — Ann, Sarah, Ellen, 
Elizabeth, and Catherine. He died 8th of 
January, 1710. His son Thomas died an 
infant, so his daughters became his heiresses, 
and sold the Manor of Beeston to Mr. Thos. 
Kitchingman, Alderman, of Leeds. 

It is painful to contemplate now such spots 
as Cottingley-IIall, Newhall, or Howley, 
Soothill, Oakwell, Batley, Lunib, Usher, and 
many other Halls in this vicinity, especially 
in a political view. Instead of such families 
as the Beestons — the Hodgsons, Saviles, 
Copleys, Greatheeds, Batts, M argot sons, 
Dshers, and Smiths, Ave find now upon their 
premises mere labourers or handycraftsmen. 
The decline or gradual disappearance of the 



153 



superior class of gentry— the most religious, 
moral, an] patriotic of all classes, at all 
times, and in all countries ; I date from the 
ruinous, disgraceful, profligate reign of Charles 
the 2nd. 

To complete my circuit of about three 
miles round Morley, I must now just notice 
Middleton and Thorpe-on-the-IIill. 

The first name that I can find at Middleton 
is that of Robert de Crepping, Lord of that 
Manor, and High Sheriff of Yorkshire, in the 
34th, 35th, and :)7th years of Henry 3rd. 
lie bore for his arms gules, a lion saliant, 
argent, between semi, and billets, or. In the 
8th of Edward 1st he obtained a charter of 
Free Warren in all the County of York. He 
left two sons— John, High Sheriff, 1st and 
2nd of Edward 2nd, and Richard. 

Sir Richard de Cropping, of Middleton, 
was the son and heir of this John. To him 
succeeded his son and heir. Sir Simon, whose 
daughter, Margeiy, being his sole heiress, 
about the 3rd year of Edward 3rd, granted 
the Manor of Middleton to Gilbert de la 
Legh, a second son of that Cheshire family 
which came from the same ancient family at 
Issell, in Cumberland— and Robert, Silkestone 
by Deed, at Pontefract, in 1329, released all 
his interest and title. The witnesses to this 
Deed were the following, viz. :— "Sir William 
de Beiston, Knight, Sir John de Elland, 
Knight, Sir Robert de Bellamont (Beaumont), 
Knight, Bryan of Thornhill, William of Skar- 
gill, Adam of Batley, Adam of Hopton, Miles 
de la Ilaye, William do alt a ripe als Dawtrey, 
Thomas de Fenton, Robert de Wrynethorpe, 
Henry de Olton, John Ewer, and others; 
also a fine was levied from Sir John Mere- 
worth and this Margery his wife, to the said 
Gilbert de la Legh, and enrolled at West- 
minster, before John Stoner, John Travers, 
Richard Slingsby, and other good people." 

Legh of Middleton, bore quarterly ; first, 
argent a bend gules over all two bars- 
second, argent a fass and three mullets in 
chief sable. 

Seven generations of the Leghs following 

in the pedigree in succession 1 musi pass 
ovei\ Annie, one of the daughters of Roger, 
the 7th in succession, married a .Mr. William 
Mawson, of Churwell. William, his second 
son, settled at Royds, in Rothwell, and 
Thomas, the heir-at-law of Roger, appears to 
have lived in Henry 7th's reign. 

William Legh, the son_aud heir of Thomas, 



and who is said to have had estates, besides 
Middleton, at West-Ardsley, Liverse 
was attainted of high treason, with Edmund 
Tattersal, a clothier, and one Ambler, a priest, 
in the 33rd year of Henry 8th (1540), and 
they were executed at London, the 24th of 
May, in that year. This I presume was the 
insurrection fomented, as was imagined, by 
Cardinal Pole, and headed by Sir John N'ovile, 
andfor which he suffered; and not him only, 
but the innocent and venerable Countess of 
Salisbury, the last of the line of Plantag* net, 
who was cruelly murdered upon this event. 

After three descents from William, we 
come to Sir Firdinando Legh, of -Middleton, 
who had four wives, was some years Governor 
of the Isle of .Aran, under the Karl of Derby; 
Gentleman of the Privy Chamber, to Charles 
the 1st, and Col. of a regiment of horse, in 
1042. He died at Pontefract. the l'.tth of 
January, 1654, and was buried in the ruined 
Church there. In 1642 he gave one hundred 
pounds to the King, at York. 

John Legh, son and heir of Sir Ferdinando, 
married Helen, daughter of Ralph Eure, of 
Washingburgh, in Lincolnshire, and had 
issue, Ann, who married Ralph Brandling, of 
Felling, in the County of Durham, Esq., and 
Catherine. 

John Legh was Capt. under his father. 
He died in .March, 1706. His daughter Anno 
was his heiress. Ralph Brandling left Mid- 
dleton Estate to his nephew, Charles Brand- 
ling, Esq., who procured an Act of Parliament 
to have a Waggon-way two and a quarter 
miles in length, to convey coals from his 
Collieries here to Leeds, which way was 
finished in 1759. 

Some few years ago. as workmen were 
cutting a new road from Bellisle to Leeds, on 
the slope or a gentle declivity, a stone coffin, 
evidently of Bramley grit, was discovered. 
To me it appeared to haw contained the 

body of a female ®f rank: partly from tho 

Bize of the coffin, which was four feel ten 

inches inside measure, but principally from 

the beads, teeth, aid bones which 1 inspected. 
Unfortunately the whole of the contents had 

been broken up and dispersed several davs 

before I visited the place, bo that 1 give my 
thoughta with some diffidence. Mad it 
happened otherwise, my belief is that 1 Bhould 

have discovered qo( only a necklace but 
bracelets, for there were many beads of 

various sizes, colours, and substances — some 
being a composition, or else of amber. A few 



154 



of them I possess. The body had been 
Covered with a substance like plaister of 
washed lime, bul it was no Buch thing, as 
appeared by a chemical test. I cannot, how- 
ever, positively say what else it was. The 
teeth were all uncommonly sound, but almost 
all besides had mouldered to dust. — The coffin 
1 ascertained had lain due North and South. 

From these premises, and there having 
been no account or tradition of a Church 
within two miles of this deposit, it is my 
belief that this was a Roman interment : 
most likely anterior to the conversion of the 
Romans and Britons of these parts. It might, 
indeed, be that of a Roman unconverted, for 



they laid their bodies North and South, and 
rally, but not always,* near a public 
road. The reader who wishes to pursue the 
subject may find in Mr. ( rough's Sepulchral 
Monuments, page 25, an account of some 
stone coffins found within the walls of York, 
in 1761, containing skeletons firm and entire 
laid in lime; and a somewhat similar inter- 
ment is recorded in the Gentleman's Magazine 
for 1802, p. 3 ( J3-4. 

* See Archfeologia, vol. 12, p. 90 and 112. Adams's 
Antiquities, p. 4S0 ; who tells us the Roman interments were 
often in fields or gardens near the highway, to remind those 
who pass of their mortality. Hence the frequent inscriptions 
of " Siste Viator."—" Aspice Viator," etc., on the Via Appia, 
Amelia, Flaminia, Tiburtina, etc. 



THORPE ON THE HILL. 



THORPE, often corrupted into Thrup, seems 
to be an Anglo-Saxon word, signifying a 
lodge in a forest, or a hamlet. — Lidgate, the 
poet, in his Troy Boke, b. 11, c. 10, mentions 
" provinces, borowes, villages, and thropes." 

At Thorpe once lived the respectable 
family of Gascoigns, related to, no doubt, if 
not descended from that celebrated Judge 
who lies interred in Hare wood Church. This 
great man was bora at Gawthorpe, in the 
Township of Ilarewood, in 1350, and died 
in 1413, leaving several children, and a fame 
imperishable for the integrity and courage 
which he displayed on two trying occasions. 
He resolutely refused to pass sentence upon 
Archbishop Scroope, as a traitor, though 
urged to do so by the imperious command of 
an absolute Monarch (Ilenry 4th), alleging, 
in justification of himself, that it would be 
violation to the laws of the land were he to 
comply. And, at another time, when Henry 
the 5th, then Prince of Wales, assaulted him 
on the Bench, he committed him to prison. 
Such conduct as this may be well contrasted 
with that of a descendant of his — Lord 
Strafford — who with all his pliability and 
Court favour, was never so high in the public 
esteem as the Chief Justice — the spirit in fact 
and views of these men were very different. 
The one insisted on a King being subject to 
laws — the other would have a King above all 
law, as sufficiently appears from the Radcliffe 
Letters.f 

The first Gascoign of Thorpe, whom I can 
find in their pedigree, was John, who lived 
in the reign of Ilenry the 8th. After him 
there are several descents which, for brevity's 
sake, I omit, and skip, at once, to Ilenry 
Gascoign, baptised the 19th of November, 
L586, ami buried 20th September, 1645. 
" His eldest son William," says the writer of 
MSS. Collections for the West-Riding, in the 
Leeds Old Library, "was slain at Melton- 
Mowbray, in the Civil War; he was famous 

" We have four Oawthorpcs or " G&wthrupfl," in the West 
Riding (I believe), and one in the North. 

t See especially p. l-l. And RtuhwQrth, vol. 2, p. 169, et 
seq. 



for his astronomical discoveries and mathe- 
matical genius, in which studies he wrote 
some manuscripts." 

Whether the former part of this paragraph 
be not one of the innumerable blunders of this 
writer, may be judged by the following ex- 
tract from really good authority. 

" Gascoign, Esquire, of Middleton, near 
Leeds," says Aubrey, "was killed at the 
battle of Marston-Moor, about the age of 2-1 
or 25 at most. Mr. Townley, of Townley, in 
Lancashire, has his papers from Mr. Edward 
Ilamsteed, who says he found out the way of 
improving telescopes before Des Cartes. Mr. 
Edward Ilamsteed tells me, Sept. 1682, that 
'twas atlYork fight he was slain."* 

Dr. \Vhitaker informs us that " he was the 
inventor of an instrument for dividing a foot 
in measure into parts," 

Since writing the above an article in the 
Gentleman's Magazine has just occurred to 
me which corroborates the statement of 
Aubrey. The writer, who signs himself 
" Astrophilus," after giving an account of 
Mr. Ilorrox and Mr. Crabtree, two famous 
young Astronomers, proceeds thus: — " Con- 
temporary with these two illustrious youths 
lived William Gascoign, the inventor of the 
micrometer, who was slain at Marston-Moor, 
on the 2nd of July, 1644, fighting for Charles 
the 1st, at the age of twenty-three." 

On this indisputable statement 1 have bat 
one reflection to offer.— How melancholy the 
talc!— how sad the end of such a gentleman] 
Alas ! he died in arms against the liberties tf 
Ids country. 

My history would here have terminated 
but the accidental discovery of a (anions 
article, corroborating some principal positions 
in it. invites me t » keep iii hand my pen for a 
few pages, and will not introduce inappro- 
priately what was intended as an appendix. 

By the kindness «>!' my must intimate friend, 

Mi-. Swinden, of Mbrley, 1 am put in posses- 
sion mi' the article in question, which he 

§ Letters vol. _\ | ...,t.'g Mag. vol.31, p. 226. 



m 



discovered al the house of one Joseph 
Wooffinden. It isawarming* pan of remark- 
able make, and the lid of which is twelve 
inches and a half in diameter. Upon it is a 
lion rampant, having, under his left paw, the 
fleur-de-lis of France; and. upon his right 
one, the crown of England which he is toss- 
ing up, and. as it were, playing with as 
though it were a toy. Now. if there could 
possibly have been any doubt as to the person 
or circumstance intended, a medal of Cromwell 
which 1 possess would have decided the 
matter ; but here we have upon the lid of the 
pan a motto, " In God is all our trust." and 
(most fortunately) the date 1650, the very 
year upon which nearly all the interest of my 
book hinges. I am credibly informed that 
this singular relic has descended from a family 
here called Robinson, and that other natives 
of Morley had similar pans,f or other articles 
with the same device, not twenty years ago. 

Before I write upon the battle of Dunbar, 
which had, doubtless, been fought before this 
pan was engraved, and, most likely, before 
my medal was struck, I wish to drop a 
remark on three of the finest public characters 
which the whole range of history well under- 
stood, presents — namely, Cromwell — Fairfax 
— and Lambert. Of the first of these we 
have a description given us by as good an 
authority and as fine a writer as, perhaps, 
any age or nation can boast. 

"Cromwell," says Mr. Godwin, "was a 
man of great virtues, sincere in his religion, 
fervent in his patriotism, and earnestly 
devoted to the best interests of mankind.f 
He had a frame of mind that no complication 
of difficulties could ever succeed to inspire 
with a doubt of his power to conquer them. 
The fertility of his conceptions, like the 
intrepidity of his spirit, was incapable of 
being exhausted. We seek in romance for 
characters with qualities enabling them to 
achieve incredible adventures. In the Lord 
Protector of the Commonwealth of England 
we find a real personage, whose exploits do 
not fall short of all that the wildest imagina- 
tion had ever the audacity to feign." 

Fairfax was a man of the most brilliant 
qualities.): In that fine character we see 

I am well assured that the device was put up*") these 
aten Us to Bhew that Cromwell had given bis enemies "a 
warming." Everj Yorksbireman knows the mean! g <>t the 
expression to give one a "warming." 

t If my life be spared I Bhall illustrate all tins by Boine 
scarce and very curious extracts. Bee Goodwin's Preface to 
rol i. i>. 7- 

| See G< <lu in. vul ::, p, 216 210, 



pourtrayed the Nobleman — the Christian — 
and the Scholar. Be ardently loved his 
country, and had a great concern for its 
antiquities. But it Mas in war that Sir 
Thomas Fairfax was pre-eminent and won- 
derful. — In the Cabinet, or in Council, of a 
cloudy mind and contracted spirit; — in his 
family concerns weak, credulous, and timid; 
governed by his Chaplains and his wife — of 
a nature mild and gentle — in the field of 
battle he was a Paladine. As his difficulties 
increased, as dangers became threatening, 
amidst the smoke of gunpowder and the 
clash of arms, the mind of Fairfax rose — his 
intellect brightened — his latent glories burst 
forth, and he appeared, confessedly, the 
second general of the age. 

But the second man of the age, perhaps, 
was General Lambert. Though inferior to 
Cromwell as a Commander, and not to be 
compared with him as a Statesman, Lambert 
had a mind which was more admirably 
regulated. A finer soul, methinks, never 
dwelt within a human bosom. lie had all 
the virtues and talents of Fairfax, without 
any of his weaknesses — he had all the 
patriotism and ardour of Cromwell, without 
any of his eccentricities ; and. besides all this, 
he was an accomplished gentleman. Devoted 
to horticulture and botany — to literature and 
painting, in which he excelled — rich in fancy, 
fluent in speech, having a clear head and a 
charming person, he was fitted alike by 
nature to adorn his native district or to shine 
in Courts. But the sweetness of his character 
is most conspicuous in his consistency ; in 
that singular adherence to his principles and 
his party, which ma iked the whole of his 
political life. 

Lambert, as is well known, was the 
favourite General of Cromwell ; and. in 1650, 
his bosom friend. Cromwell, on the other 
hand, was revered, as well as loved, by 
Lambert; and whatever difference in opinion 
existed between them in after times, he had 
the greatness to bow before the master-mind, 
applying to him, probably, his usual phrase, 
— "even the best of men are but men at the 
lest."§ 

Such were 1 the Republican chiefs when a 
war with the Scots became necessary. The 
disasters of the times had thinned their 
victorious ranks, and their forces were so 
stationed that but a small army could be 

This was the common expression of Lambert ; and, as I 
believe, moie frequently applied to Cromwell than all others. 



157 



marched Northward. The command of it 
was offered to Fairfax, who declining' the 
"forlorn hope," it devolved on Cromwell. 
Most fortunate was it that it did so, for no 
other human being' was fitted for the enter- 
prise. 

Passing- over much in Hodgson's Memoirs, 
and Rushforth's Collections or other Works,* 
as to this singular campaign, we find the 
little Republican band of eight or nine 
thousand men, on the 2nd of September, 
1650, in the vicinity of the Scottish capital, 
opposed to a force of four or five times their 
number, strongly posted upon commanding 
heights, supplied with every material, strong 
in cavalry, commanded by their best Generals, 
and roused to exertion by the clamour of their 
priesthood. — The night was dark, the rain fell 
in torrents, the Republican provisions had 
begun to fail. — Cromwell, as was his in- 
variable custom, sought his God in private 
and earnest prayer, and was, evidently, 
cheered under a -ense of the divine Presence. 
A council of war was held, and two or three 
only of the officers were opposed to retreat. 
It is, perhaps, unnecessary to say that 
Cromwell and Lambert were of this number. 

The day at length began to dawn, and a 
rumour was heard of the Scottish army being 
in motion. Cromwell was among the first 
who perceived it. and directing his glass 
towards the enemy, he exclaimed — * w They 
arc com in (j down I The Lord is delivering 
them into our hands!" He gave the word — 
his men were instantly in aims, and he 
advanced before them. There stood the 
intrepid Lambert — the noble Fleetwood — 
with the Hodgsons — the Pickerings — the 
Smithsons — and the Aldreds; perchance, 
Capt. Oates too, and some of the"Farnley 
Wood Conspirators;" but assuredly Major 
Joshua Greatheed — the friend of Hodgson 
and of Lambert. 

No sooner bad Cromwell advanced in front 

of the line than ho drew his BWOrd. The sun 
was just emerging from an ocean of clouds, 
and glittered upon the sea in prospect. With 
all that tad and address for which ho was 
incomparable, Cromwell availed himself of 
the critical momenl ; and, pointing to the 
glorious luminary, he exclaimed in a voice 
like thunder — " Now, let God arise I and Irl 

This narrative is drawn from various sources besides the 

above ; such as Barnet's History. <>nu part <>f It i> confirmed 
to me by tradition of my forefathers. I mean Cromwell's 

deportment. 



Ms enemies he scattered.'" Then arose the 

banner — ; - In Gcd is all our t roust /" Then 
went forth the motto — " The Lord of Hosts" 
— •• God with us /" Then too. methinks. was 
probably raised the psalm of thanksgiving, 
and the song of triumph. Sweet practi 
and peculiar alone to these immortal heroes. 
At all events the issue of the conte-t was 
doubtful but for a short time, for the d< 
mined aspect of those old soldiers •• upon 
whom victory was entailed," so intimidated 
the Scots that they were soon in disorder, 
and fled precipitately. '* I profess," ejaculated 
Cromwell, in surprise and ecstasy, " they 
run r Yes ! they did run. How little indeed 
they could abide his presence* appeared from 
the result : which, on their side, was three 
thousand .-lain, ten thousand prisoners, with 
the loss of two hundred culverins, and all 
their baggage train, and arms; — while that 
of the Republicans was one commissioned 
officer, and about forty men. 

Amongst the innumerable mistakes into 
which people have been led by the artifices 
of a party, and the treachery or ignorance of 
their scribes, no one is more common than 
the idea that Cromwell was a man of per- 
plexed thoughts and expression. Alas! his 
attachment to the jargon of the Independents 
has helped forward their calumnies not a 
little. But, the fact is. that Cromwell could 
both write and speak well when he pleased, 
and this I hope to shew in a future publica- 
tion. For the present lot the wisdom of his 
actions and the sublimity of his conceptions 
be the pledge of my power to do this. Look 
into history my readers — per use the real or 
fabricated speeches of Kings or of (Jenerals 
upon the field of battle. Where will you find 
a parallel instance to the one before you? 
Fine, assuredly, was Cumberland's appeal at 
Cullodenf Field. "Ifunij one be unwilling 
to fight Irani sentiment or from fear, he is at 
liberty to leave us." Liner still that of 
Napoleon to his soldiers in Egypt. "From 
tin- heights of those Pyramids forty centurie*\ 
took upon us." Hut how infinitely are both 
surpassed by the grandeur of Cromwell ! 

So terrible was ( n unveil ttj his enemies that when the 

i " Charles the 2nd heard that lie was selected for the 
chief command in the Irish war, he resolutely declined setting 
bis f""t in that countrj So much depends noon the personal 
character of a General as well is <>i a King. Bee Godwin'! 
Commonwealth, voL 8, p. Lac Yet this was the fellow who. 
in Illustration of £sop's fable of the "Sick I. ion uml tho 
.It ;•■ a '!<■ :<1 man. 

t See also the proclamation of Bar] Warrick baton tin 
battle Laid. 

; Mem. .its l>y Oourgaml, MO, VOL -• 



158 



u Let God" said he, "arise, and let his 
enemies be scattered." 

The sequel of this achievement, more like 
a romance than a military adventure, is well 
known. It only remains for me to add, that 
Prom this period the Dissenting interest 
appears to have prospered in Morley — that 
the Earl of Sussex became its patron — that 
the lion sported with the Crown of England 
with one foot, while he kept beneath the 

• I am delighted to and that Captain Hodgson'* Narrative 
confirms the tradition of my forefathers. " I heard ' Noll' 
■ays Hodgson, " Now, letjGod arise, and let his enemies 
be Bcattere I." Ps. 68, v. 1st. 



, other the Lily of France — that religion and 
morals were advanced — that trade begun to 
flourish in these districts, and eight or nine 
years of such prosperity ensued that, even to 
the present day, when an unfortunate York- 

j shireman is reminded of his former happiness, 
the common, well-known ejaculation is — 
"Ah/ but those ivere Oliver days." — A Veil 
might this high and holy character be 
depicted, as we find he was, under the 
beautiful emblem of "an azure s})ot upo?\ a 
cloudy sky."* 

* Sec Burton's Diary. 



ADDITIONS TO MORLEY. 



SINCE this History was written a new Church, 
dedicated to St. Peter, has been built at 
Morley, upon a portion of two acres of 
ground, presented with a donation of £200, 
by the Right Honourable the Earl of Dart- 
mouth. The first stone of it, in the absence 
of Mr. Foxley, the Vicar of Batley, was laid 
by the Rev. Henry Cooper, his Curate, and a 
copper plate was placed in it, stating also 
that Mr. Chantrell was the architect, and 
Messrs. Robert Clapham, John Hollings, and 
George Crowther, Churchwardens for this 
parish. The procession, consisting of many 
of the clergy, many ladies, elegantly dressed, 
and some gentlemen, with a band of music, 
etc., was a pleasing spectacle, and it was 
rendered most so by the state of the weather. 
A dinner for the Clergy was provided at the 
Nelson's Arms Inn, near the ground, and the 
plans of the architect gave universal satisfac- 
tion. 

The architecture of this Church is an imi- 
tation of that which prevailed in the latter 
part of Henry the 3d's reign — its proportions 
are admirable, and there is a consistency in 
the design throughout which is rarely met 
with. The sum of £3000 being the utmost 
of what his Majeety's Commissioners allow 
in this instance, and a considerable part 
thereof being destined for the inclosure of 
the Burial-ground, nothing can be more 
judicious than the plan of the architect in 
fixing upon the a:ra of Henry the 3d's reign, 
for he has thus saved the cost, or at least, 
prevented the necessity for buttresses, battle 
ments, a porch, fine tracery, and other 
ornamental work which increased in subse- 
quent times. Nor is the structure less 
suitable as a village Church, but in my 
opinion, more so. 

As this Church is near the public road to 
Leeds, Iluddersfield, and Manchester, and 
thousands of strangers are travelling near it 
annually, I congratulate not only the architect, 
but the people in the district, upon our having 
an Edifice which will do them credit, in the 
esteem of every antiquary and man of good 



taste. And I feel more pride and pleasure 

upon this subject, when I contrast this little. 
neat, and appropriate structure with most of 
the modern Churches. I appeal to every 
real antiquary, what are they like? Do they 
remind him of our ancient ecclesiastical 
architecture, with its fine lantern-towers or 
heaven-shooting spires ? Can anything be 
more incongruous than those buildings, with 
their Heathenish vestibules — their " hodge- 
podge " of different a3ras, styles, and orna- 
ment — (if it deserves the name) — their 
cupolas, pigeon-cote, or pepper-box belfrys, 
more resembling a patent shot manafactory, 
and more appropriate to Noblemen's grounds 
or public places of amusement, than anything 
else. To me it is astonishing and unaccount- 
able, if some people have no more taste than 
to project such things, that others should 
have no more knowledge than to allow their 
erection. 

The situation of this Church is very com- 
manding. A line drawn from the Tower of 
Ardsley Church to that of Pudsey, would 
nearly pass over St. Peter's, at Morley; 
which, having a spire, and being nearly 
equidistant from these other Churches, pro- 
duces an agreeable variety. A spectator 
from this Church may see the line woods, 
part of the grounds, and house of Temple 
Newsome, also Great Orinscliffe, Whitkirk, 
part of the Hare wood plantation-, and of the 
Skipton Hill-, while Leeds and si .me of the 
villages near it, are in the valebelow. 

It is the present intention of Mr. Chantrell 
to crown the spire, at Morley. with an o;i_ 
instead of a cock or vane. Old St. Paul's, 
at London, as Ave are told by Dugdale, was 
surmounted thus, which has excited the 
surprise of some people, and the doubts of 

others, who have suspected that the dove, 

and not the eagle, was exhibited. For the 
information of our architect, (if he knows it 

not) and of other antiquaries, 1 take leave to 
say that Dugdale is quite correct. It was 



banged for i doyt, which wi 
upon the Bteepltj uu the Nat Juty, ls^y. 



l'Ul 



L60 



(strange as it may appear upon a Christian 
Temple) an eagle. 

It is well known to all nun of learning 
how much the Catholics of ancienl times have 
borrowed from Pagan Rome, although (as 
was insinuated in a former page) this subjed 
lias not 1 cm investigated quite so well as it 
ought tn he — an instance of it uowlies bef< re 
us. The eagle was the bird of Jupiter 
"tonans," who. with his •• nil eiite dextra," 
hurled the lightning, of course. In a picture 
of Hebe, (Jupiter's cupbearer) with the eagle, 
the lightning appears issuing from its talons; 
one might, therefore, well imagine that by 
the Romans this bird would be regarded as 
sacred and inviolable, by lightning, in par- 
ticular ; and Pliny, accordingly, in his Natural 
History, makes mention of it among the most 
certain preservatives from the electric fluid. 
" Aquila" says he,* " Vitulus Marinus, et 
Lauras, fulmine non feriuntur.'' Here then 
we come at the secret about the eagle, and 
why it w r as adopted by our Catholic country- 
men. 

But neither the eagle, nor the globe con- 
taining holy relics, nor the baptism of bells, 
nor the incantations of the Catholic Priests, 
could save Old St. Paul's or its spire. As, 
therefore, the eagle alone is not very likely to 
secure that of St. Peter's, at Morley, certain 
contrivances for the purpose of a less super- 
stitious, but more philosophical kind, are 
contemplated. 

One circumstance connected with the intro- 
duction of this Church is deserving of 
remembrance, which is that every possible 
exertion has been made to prevent rates being- 
laid upon the township for inclosure of the 
Burial-ground, or providing necessaries for 
the Church. To defray the expenses of the 
former the Committee here have obtained the 
sanction of the Parliamentary Commissioners, 
and the promise of the architect, that out of 
the grant of £'3,000 an adequate sum shall 
be appropriated to the inclosure; and to 
furnish the latter a Lady's Association has 
been formed, — almost every article has been 
subscribed, and the donations in money 
already exceed 1*27. So far, at least, the 
principle of Dissenters thai "every Christian 

Society should suppoii itself." has been acted 

upon. No person has been solicited whose 

1 Lib. 2, cap. 65. What ft pity it Lb that people who publish 
Topographical Works seldom explain these curiosities. \\w 
( .f them, l believe, are able to do it ; for illustration is one 
thing and ft OTjrffatfOfl U another. 



hostility to the Church was manifest, and 
Still less has any legal demand been made 
upon him. 

I cannot lay down my pen without noticing 
the liberal aud kindly feeling displayed by 
many Dissenters of respectability, in the 
vicinity of Moiley, towards those who have 
interested themselves regarding this Church. 
By their assistance and that of other fiiends, 
hot only lane the donations and subscriptions 
aforesaid amounted to what will be quite 
sufficient for present exigencies, but a hand- 
some sum is in the Hank, to be appropriated 
in case this shall be a district Church (as was 
ever designed) for a Minister's endowment; 
but if not, for the support and repair of the 
Church, or otherwise as they who have sub- 
scribed the money may determine. An organ 
also, to cost one hundred and forty pounds, 
has been bespoke, and is building by Mr. 
Joseph Booth, of Wakefield, and above half 
the money is already in hand. May the 
exertions of the Committee be crowned with 
success ! — May they have reason, upon 
review of their labours, to rejoice: and 
especially in the anticipation of that reforma- 
tion and renovation in society which seems 
fast approaching. In a well regulated com- 
munity, and under another order of things, a 
Church may be of the greatest advantage in 
every neighbourhood. With an eye to 
futurity the author of this work has interested 
himself in its erection; aud when he who 
brings light out of darkness, order out of 
confusion, and real good out of "seeming 
evil," shall have executed his fearful and 
mysterious work; — when the tempest, so 
long impending over this land, shall have 
passed away, there will be a brighter sun 
and more radient heaven. The author has 
lived in strange times — he remembers some- 
thing of the spirit of the age during the 
Birmingham Riots — has not been unmindful 
of it ever since ; and he now beholds the con- 
sequences. But however these evils may 
affect our posterity, there is one subject for 
consolation. — The spirit which gave them 
birth can never again be invoked with success. 
— The people who burnt the dwellings of a 
Priestley, and would have taken his life, 
would now spread flowers in his path, and 
ciwvy him through the streets in triumph. — 

The tocsin oi war cannol now be sounded 

political fallacies are seen through — oppro- 
brious epithets are laughed at — bigotry is 
little prevalent — national antipathies are 



161 



dying away with the tales of the nursery — 
"the schoolmaster is abroad" — history is 
better written and understood, and people are 
beginning to think for themselves. With 
confidence, therefore, the rising generation 
may look to the future ; and, in many 
respects, may anticipate important changes. 
Should these extend to our National Church 
and Clergy, the foresight of the acting 
members of the Committee at Morley, as 
respects the Church of St. Peter, will be 
commemorated by a distant posterity. 

Since this work went to press, the Diary of 
Thoresby, the Historian of Leeds, has come 
out : the most interesting passages in which, 
as relative to these parts, I will endeavour to 
throw into a single note. And first, I would 
notice the mention which he makes of several 
persons of whom I have written — of the 
Saviles — the Whartons — Hodgsons — Elstons 
Pickerings — and some of the ejected 
Ministers; but especially of Ralph Rymer's 
son, who, it appears by w T hat is added in p. 
296, was author of the " Feedera," and whose 
father "was convicted on very slender 
evidence."* But the most curious part is 
what relates to Howley-IIall, to which place 
Thoresby went on the 28th of May, 1683, 
"to see" the mansion "and pictures of the 
late Earl of Sussex," (James, and not 
Thomas, as I before intimated). Ilowley- 
Hall had upon it inscriptions, in several 
places, and is styled " a noble and stately 
fabric," in page 207 ; and, from a note sub- 
joined, it is manifest that it was pulled down, 
as I conjectured, in 1716 or 1717, and not in 
1730, as Dr. Whitaker has asserted. In 
March, 1702, Thoresby revisited this fabric, 
"but found no arms in the windows ; only in 
the hall was Sir John's and his Lady's in 
plaister." " The gardens and orchards," . 
he, " arc curious, kept in the new order of 
dwarf trees, except a remarkable yew tree — 
the wall fruits forward to a wonder— the 
apricots set, and some pretty large." Again, 
under date of 1705, we find Th iding 

with a Mr. Thornton to see Howley-Hall, 
"where," says he, "was a stately entr 
from the Porter's-Lodge to the front of the 
hall. I took copies," ho adds, "of theinscrip- 
tions, but was disappointed of (lie family 
pictures, as the famous Sir John Savile, first 

" From what Thoresby relates, it appear! that Ralph 
Rymer lived at Yafforth-Hall, dear Northallerton. His son 
Thomas was appointed to tiir- office of Historian Royal, by 

William 3rd. See vol. 1, i>. WI ; vol. 2, p. 24. This gentle- 
man, or one of the family, teems to have bcvii Chaplain, to 
Lvrtl Jt'uirfiu in Itol. fecc vol. 1, i>. 108, 



Alderman of Leeds. This hall is since 
demolished, and the materials sold — Omnia 
Vanitas." 

In 1712 a drawing of Howley-IIall was 
taken by one Booth, an artist (vol. 2, p. 172). 

Of the son of Capt. Hodgson much is said. 
It appears he was Chaplain to Lady Hewley. 

In 1712, Thoresby visited Middleton-Hall, 
" where," says he, " I was kindly received by 
Mr. Brandling', but got little information as to 
the ancient family of the Lcghs, though Mr. 
Francis is yet living, whose grandfather died 
one hundred and seventeen years ago. In 
their private Chapel I saw some rich copes 
and vestments, with pictures, *.v.c, with a 
Mass-book, but never a bible in any 
language." (p. 89.) 

The Reader will find an account of Edward 
Reyner in p. 321 — of Gamaliel Marsden in p. 
84 — of Win. Gascoign (who lived, it seems, 
at Xewhall) in p. 357 — of the Tingley Burial- 
ground in p. 49, 59, &c. — and a curious 
account of Sir John Savile's daughter, who 
married Dr. Bradley, of Ackworth, p. 153. 

I cannot conclude without noticing the 
mention which is made by Thoresby of Mr. 
Booth, of Rawden, and Mr. Aldred, of 
Morley, in p. 319, vol. 2 ; and which corro- 
borates, in some measure, my account of these 
very excellent and useful men. In page -J .">:;, 
under dcte of 1684, we have this entry — 
"June 29, Die Dom. — L T p pretty early ; walked 
to Gilder sham, where, at Mr. John Dicken- 
son's, had a curious opportunity of 'privacy to 
hoar an excellent sermon from Mr. Sharp. "f 
This was the gentleman to whom reference is 
made, in page 95 of my work, and of whom 
much is written in the first volume of the 
Diary. He lived at Horton, near Bradford, 
while he officiated as Presbyterian Pastor, at 
Leeds. 

Upon the whole it is evident that Thoresby 
was a collector — a compiler — a theologian — a 
sermon hunter— a courtier — a priest-ridden 
dupe — and a man who could swallow any 
absurdity; but certainly ho had little in him 
of the true antiquary, or man of genius. 
What must wo think of a person who 
could write (hat a disease of twelve years 1 
duration was cured by a handkerchief 

dipped in the blood of Charles Stuari, 

Kin,-- of England? — of a shower of corn 

falling from the clouds', in June, L681, and 

coining down chimneys, pari of which ho 

t in p. 180 Thoresby tells us Mr. slurp preached two hours 
ami ;i lull by tag ChUTQh QlOOk, " vet uut tcUivio," NJ1 ku, 



162 



kept for his museum? — In short, of a scribe 
who could put down .ill sorts of horsegod- 
mother tales and gossip, and tell us little 
about persons, and events, which would have 
interested a very distant posterity? How 
provoking, instead of this, to find his Diary 
full of that kind of "twaddle" for which 
there might be some excuse before Thoresby 
was born, but could be none in his times? 
But so it is, when a man abandons the right 
use of his reason — when he pins his faith 



upon the sleeve of other persons — when he 
meddles with all concerns but those which 
belong to himself — when he pesters himself 
and other people with matters of speculation 
and of fancy, and is little concerned about 
matters of fact, he not only involves himself 
in difficulties and in troubles, but he leaves 
behind the mementos of his folly. Thoresby 
was, probably, a well meaning man ; but his 
writings, voluminous as they are, tend little 
to our instruction, and less to our amusement. 



THE END. 



APPENDIX I . 



Edward the Confessor swore—" By God's Motlicr." (a) 

William the Conqueror—" By God's Splendour." (6) 

William Kufus-" By St. Lv.ke's Facer (c) 

Henry First—" By our Lord's Death. " {d) 

Stephen—" By God's Birth." (e) 

Henry Second—" God's Curse light on you and mine." (/) 

John—* ■ By God's Teeth." (g) 

Henry Third-" By God's Head." (h) 

Edward First—" By God's Blood." (i) " per sanguinem Die." 

Richard Second -" By St. Edward. " (j) 

Henry Sixth—" By St. Edward." (k) His common word was—" Forsooth." 

Edward Fourth—" By God's Blessed Lady." (I) 

Richard Third—" By St. Paul," (m) 

Henry Eighth—" By St. Mary." (n) When angry-" By God. " 

Elizabeth-" By G ." or " God's Death." (o) or " God's Wounds." 

James First swore.— See Ellis's Letters, vol 3, p. 118 ; but his Oath is not mentioned. 

Oliver Cromwell was not a Swearer. 

Charles Second—" God's Fish." A corruption of ' ' God's Flesh. " ( p) 



APPENDIX II 



The greatest man, perhaps, that ever lived, having attained a correspondent popularity, at least in this 
vicinity, I shall adorn my History, so nearly connected with his times, with a few scarce and very curious 
documents illustrative of his grandeur, condescension, benevolence, and piety. 



COPY OF A PETITION TO OLIVER CROMWELL. 



"To his Highness, the Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland, 
" The humble Petition of Margery, the wife of William Beacham, mariner— Sheweth, 
" That your Petitioner's husband hath been active and faithful in the wars of this Commonwealth, both 
by sea and land, and hath undergone many hazards by imprisonment and fights, to the endangering his life, 
and at last lost the use of his right arm, and is utterly disabled from future service, as doth appear from 
the Certificate annexed ; and yet he hath no more than forty shillings pension from Chatham, by the year. 

" That your Petitioner having only one son, who is tractible to learn, and not having wherewith to bring 
him up, by reason of their present low estate, occasioned by the public service aforesaid. 

"Humbly prayeth that your Highness, would vouchsafe to present her said son, Randolph Beacham, to 
be a scholar in Sutton's Hospital, called the Charter-house." 

(Indorsed) "OLIVER P. 

" We refer this Petition and Certificate to the Commissioners for Sutton's Hospital. —July 28, 1856. 

(a) Or, " By our Lady" Malmesbury. Rapin, p. 187. Stowe, 129. 
lb) Rapin, p. 165— 180. Speed, 432. (<•) Stowe, 170. -Speed, 430. Rapin, 189. (<*) Speed, 450 
(e) Note to Rapin, 203. (/) Stowe, 232. Speed, 470. to) Matt Paris, 228. Rapin, 289. Stowe, 254, 
w (h) Speed, 540. Rapin. 327— 334. (») Speed, 560. Rapin, Note to page 345. 

(j)'ArchaDologia, vol. 20, p. 43. (k) Stowe, 650. (/) Stowe, 727—755. („«) Stowe, 717. 

(n) Speed. 703. Ellis, vol. 1, p. 280. (o) Ellis's Letters, vol. 3, p. 41—102. 

(p) Life of Lord Russell, p. 62. 



164 



COPY OF A LETTER* SENT BY OLIVER CROMWELL TO HIS SECRETARY ON THE 
ABOVE PET] PlOa BEING PRESENTED. 



"Y<m receive from me this 28th Instant, a Petition of Margery Beacham, desiring the admission of her 

son into the Charter-House. / fcnowtht man, who was employed one day in an important secret service, 

which be did effectually to our great benefit an 1 the Comm n wealth's. The Petition is a brief relation of a 

. without any flattery. 1 have wrote under it a common reference to the Commissioners, hut I mean a 

• deal more— that it shall be done without their debate or consideration of the matter : and so do you, 

privately hint t<> . . . . 

" I have not that particular shining bauble, or feather in my cap for crowds to gaze at or kneel to ; but I 
hare power and resolution to make the Nations tremble. To be short. I know how to deny Petitions; and, 
whatever T think proper, for outward form, to refer to any officer or office, I expect that such my compliance 
with custom, shall be also looked upon as an indication of my will and pleasure to have the thing done. 
Sec therefore that the boy is admitted. 

" Thy true f i iend, OLIVER P." 

Upon this letter, in which the incomparable majesty of the " Unparalleled Monarch " peeps out, I would 
engraft a minute or two from my Common Place Book. 

In Cromwell's l'eply to the Address of his Army, touching the acceptance of the kingly title, he tells it 
among other things, " that for his part he loved the title— ' a feather in a hat '—as little as they did." 
Burton's Diary, vol. 2. p. 383. 

"Cromwell," says Ludlow, "said it was but e a feather in a man's cap,' and therefore, he wondered 
that men would not please Vie children, and permit them to enjoy the rattle.'" Memoirs, vol. 2, p. 586—587. 



APPENDIX III. 

I take the liberty to extract the following from the Gentleman's Magazine for 1791, being well assured as 
to the authenticity of the communication, from my knowledge of the writer, with whom my zeal, when a 
boy, respecting Eugene Arm, made me a favourite. 

" Mr. Urban, 

"The late Sir John Goodricke, Bart., who died in the year 1789, used to relate an anecdote 
of Oliver Cromwell, told him when a boy, by a very old woman who had formerly attended his mother, 
Lady Goodricke, in the capacity of midwife, and who spent most of her latter days at Pvibstone-Hall. Sir 
John used to give it thus in her own words : 

" When Cromwell came to lodge at our house, in Knaresborough, I was then but a young girl. Having 
heard much talk about the man, I looked at him with wonder. Being ordered to take a pan of coals and air 
his bed, I could not, during the operation, forbear peeping over my shoulder several times to observe this 
extraordinary person who was seated at the far side of the room untying his garters. Having aired the bed, 
I went out, and shutting the door after me, stopped ; and, peeping through the keyhole, I saw him rise from 
his seat, advance to the bed, and fall on his kees, in which attitude I left him for some ; when returning 
again I found him still at prayer, and this was his custom every night so long as he stayed at our house ; from 
which I concluded he must be a good man ; and this opinion I always maintained afterwards, though I heard 
him very much blamed, + and excessively abused. "J 

" Surely no one will say, adds the worthy writer, " that this was a parade of piety, pharisaical intention, 
to be seen of men. How far ambition might alter these sentiments afterwards, is left to the historian of 
those turbulent times. The person who related this to Sir John Goodricke, was Ellenor Ellis, whose father 
owned the house before mentioned. She was born, as appears by the Parish Register, June 30th, 1632, and 
was, therefore, twelve years old at the siege of Knaresborough Castle. She afterwards married a Mr. Fish wick, 
had several children, and died in the year 1714, aged 82. 

" The house, which stood near the place where the Crown Inn now stands, in the High-Street, 
Knaresborough, was taken down and rebuilt in the year 1764 ; but care was taken to preserve the floor of 
the room where Cromwell lay. 



APPENDIX IV. 

One of the most amusing instances of the cunning of the Romish Priests, in ancient times, may be found 
in the fifteenth volume of the Archadogia, p. 405. — Some years ago, there was discovered in Cirencester 
Church, under many coats of whitewash, a painting of the martyrdom of St. Erasmus ; under which, in 
old black letter was the following inscription : — 

" What Ma other Wonia worscip this holi Sent, Bisschop and Martr. eiry Sunday that is within the yere. 
with a pater Noster and an Ave, other ony Almus giveth to a poor man, or breng ony Candell lyght, less or 
more, he shall have V giftes granted of God." 



* See another Letter characteristic of the man in Cromwell's Memoirs, vol. 1, p. 397. 

t This was in in enemy's neighbourhood, and before his character and talents were fully developed. 

J Moliere constitute! an old woman the best judge of his Comedies. Napoleon referred to another, aa a criterion of hia 

popularity In France ; and \vu have here tlio opinion of a young girl equally artless, unprejudiced, and rational, 



105 



" The first is, he shall have reysonabill gode to his lyvis enrle. The secunde is, that his enemys schall have 
no power to do him no bodily harrae or dysese. The iij is, what reysonabil thynge that he woll aske of God, 
and that holi Seint shall be graunted. The iiij is, that he schall be uubounde of all his tribulation and 
dysese. The V is, that his laste ende have Bcbrift and housill and grete repentaunce and Bacremente and 
annewntinge, and the maye he come to to that blysse that never hath ende.— Amen." 

Now, observe, reader, there is here promised- 1st. Worldly prosperity. 2nd. Immunity from injuries of 
every kind. 3rd. The grant of every petition (guarded by the subterfuge of that pretty word *' reysonabil.") 
4th. Deliverance from every afflict ion. 5th. The benefit of confession, absolution, the eucharist or sacrament t 
extreme unction ; in short, all the passports of the Church, with eternal f elicit'/ of course. —And all this for what 
consideration? Why, for the value of a penny to the poor's box, or a bit of wax light to the Church of St. 
Erasmus II ! What a lesson may we learn from siich an anecdote ! 



APPENDIX V. 



One of the grand fallacies respecting Cromwell, invented and circulated, no doubt, for the purpose of 
concealing the fact of his unparalleled popularity, is the cunning tale about his military and arbitrary 
government. Nothing can be more artful and deceptious than such a representation, with reference to a 
person whose military talents, especially, have raised him to the sovereign command. The very circum- 
stance of his being the idol of an army, and effecting great designs by its instrumentality, appears at once 
decisive of the question, and f?w people are disposed to carry their thoughts one single step further. In the 
instance before us, the fallacy (as is not unfrequently the case) is comprised in a single word, the word 
11 Army." The sophism is this, that no distinction exists between the Parliamentary or Protectorate army 
and the armies under the Monarchy, or, in other words, people are desired to believe that the will of the 
people of England could be no better expressed by the one, as organ of the public voice, than by the other. 
Now this is a position which I deny flatly, and I maintain that from its very origin, its constitution and 
nature, the Republican was the only army that ever did or ever could proclaim the national sentiment. Is 
no distiction to be made between Nobles and Gentlemen, who came forward voluntarily and independently 
to serve their country, and the myrmidons of a despot or the tools of a faction ? between men who left their 
trades, businesses, and comforts for the same purpose, and the very refuse of society, destitute alike of 
character, principle, or motive ? Will any one say that military of the one description would not afford a 
sufficient index of the national sentiment, especially when triumphant ; whereas the others would afford no 
criterion at all? Can any one believe that the Republican was not the popular cause, when organized 
masses with old officers were beaten by raw and inexperienced levies ? 

It is impossible to read, as in the foregoing pages even, how the Republican troops were raised -of what 
kind of men they generally consisted, and the language which they held, without perceiving an essential 
difference between them and any other military in any age in this kingdom. The very tone of this language 
appears an echo of the national voice. The records of history do not present an instance similar to one 
before adduced, in a remonstrance with their rulers. "We do not," said these Patriots, " consider ourselves 
a band of Janissaries, hired only to fight the battles of the Parliament. We have voluntarily taken up 
arms for the liberties of the nation of which we are a part, and before we lay them down we will see that 
end provided for." Surely this sounds more like the address of delegates or representatives of the people, 
than of a rebellious soldiery. 

Studiously and craftily as it has been kept out of sight, it is manifest to every man of reflection and 
historical knowledge, that the power of Cromwell was seated in the national opinion of his deserts, his 
talents and virtue, rather than in the army which was impelled by the tide of that opinion. The army, in 
fact, was made up of men in whose minds religion (as they accounted it) was the main spring to all their 
actions. Of Presbyterians and fifth Monarchy men and other Enthusiasts, who wore highly incensed at 
Cromwell for his liberality and equity; nor were the Independents indeed much pleased with him on the 
same grounds. Besides this he had political enemies in the Republicans and [loyalists, and deadly foes in 
an Aristocracy, who envied his talents, despised his birth, and detested his ascendancy. What then but 
his unprecedented popularity could have supported a man who courted no party, political or religious? 
What other power could have enabled him to reduce the army as he actually did, rather than increase it ? to 
awe, by a single look, a mutinous and discontented soldiery rising into arms ? — to control the wildest and 
most intractible visionaries? — to compose a chaos of combustible and disordered elements, and rise 
majestic in every storm ? Ah ! how short would have been that life, had it merely depended upon military 
support ! How transient would have been that power had there been no other basis than military reputation 
to rest upon ! 

Purposing in another work to expose, by evidence as well as argument, this grand political fallacy, I take 
but a transient view of it in this place. 



APPENDIX V 1 . 



In the Journals of the House of Commons, under date 30th of January, 1677 B, a rote of supply may be 
seen for King Charles 2nd, for defraying the expenses of a solemn interment of the King, bis lather, and 

erecting a monument to his memory. 



lee 



Among the drawings o! Sir Christopher Wren, still preserved, are the designs made by him for a 
mausoleum and tomb, with two inscriptions, which may be seen in a Note to Ellis's Original Letters. Next 
follows his estimate, which Ellis also has copied. 

" King ChaHet the tnd received the seventy thousand pounds; but," as Lord Clarendon observes, "the 
thought of the removal of his father's body was set aside, and the reason communicated to very few, for the 
better diecountenancwg further enquiry." Eachard even, the redhot loyalist, says :—" It was thought that 
King Charles the tnd never tent to enquire after the body." Ellis's Letters, vol. 3, New Series, p. 324. 

This is the fellow, in respect to whose memory schoolboys are taught to deck their hats with oak on the 
29th of May, and the incomparable Cromwell is called a " Usurper." 



APPENDIX VII. 



That the death of an individual should have sunk England in the scale of Nations, from a first to a 
third rate power, would be incredible, if the fact were not not ascertained by many, and the very best 
authorities. One of these is Bishop Burnet, who relates that upon complaints made by Charles the 2nd, to 
the Dutch Ambassador, of the different conduct of that Nation towards England in Cromwell's time and his 
own, and especially in their treatment of himself and his brother,— Borel, in great simplicity, answered,— 
" Ha! Sire, c' etoit une autre chose : Cromwell etoit un grand homme, et il sefaisoit craindre et par terre et par 
£/ en »_« This answer," says Burnet, " was very rough. The King's reply was, ' Je me ferai craindre aussi 
a mon tour ;' but he was scarce as good as his word."* 

It was soon after this period that the men in power finding that they had got a King Log, or rather a 
Stork, t and mortified by the insults and derision even of a petty State ; employed Killegrew, the jester, to 
rouse by his wit the " legitimate " Charles, and call forth that in him which never had existence. Killegrew 
accordingly appeared before the royal presence, booted and spurred and all in a bustle, like a man prepared 
for an immediate journey. Charles, quite surprised, demanded an explanation, and especially as to where 
he was going? " Going !— going !" said the courtly and cunning Jester, " why to hell, to be sure, to fetch 
Oliver Cromwell to come and thrash these insolent Dutchmen, for nobody else can." 

So much does the grandeur and prosperity of a Nation depend, frequently, upon the personal character of 
the chief ruler ; and so well, in the history of the Stuarts, is illustrated a passage in holy writ—" Woe to 
thee O Land, when thy King is a child, when thy Princes indulge in a morning." 

APPENDIX VIII. 



In a curious old book, republished in 1633, and which has evidently belonged to my family for several 
generations, (intituled " Porta Linguarum,") I find upon the margins, a few notes from the old Republicans 
of Morley, written about the time of the Civil War, and chiefly upon the science of government. Being of 
too general a nature to interest the public now, I pass them over ; but I cannot do so by another matter of 
curiosity, to my fellow townsmen at least. In this volume there is fortunately preserved to us the names of 
some of these heroes of the Commonwealth and Protectorate, whose Rulers and Generals were compared by 
Voltaire to the ancient Scipios. But for this book some of these names had perished, though their deeds 
will live in the histories of distant ages. The following is the order, nearly, in which they stand, some of 
them written in red ink : — " Josua Greatlieed, Thomas Oates, Lawrence Hargrave, Samuel Smalpage, Mark 
Brook, William Brook, Josua Croivther, John Lister, Samuel Root, William Scott, Richard Horson, Edward 
Anell, Eden Ellis, Christopher Scott, Thomas Bromell, John Walker, Edward Walker. Francis Tolson or 
Tomson, William Rcvell, Edward Brook, Wm. Crawshaw, William Dickinson, John Wood, James Pearson, 

James Hall, Stephen Tomson, Barras, Beilph Harris, Matthew Smurthwaite, R Turner, Joseph 

Greene, Isaac Home. Francis Jephson, Clarke, Miles Townson, Thomas Webster, F. Walker, Thos. 

Atkinson, Ralph Webster, John Ellis, Thos. Holmes, and Eadcliffe." 

As to the handwriting I am quite unacquainted with it, but am pretty certain it is not that of Major 
General Greatheed or Captain 1 nomas Oates ; but many, if not all the persons here mentioned, there can 
be no doubt, were engaged in the battles of Adwalton-Moor, Marston-Moor, and Dunbar. 

( 'romwell, as Bishop Burnet tells us, used often to say " lie would make the name of an Englishman greater 
than ever that of a Roman heid been;" and Burnet appears to have thought he fulfilled his promise. 
Clurcndon even, malignant as ho was, is compelled to say that " CromweWs greatness at home was but a 
jhadma of the glory which he had eibroad." Live, then, ye illustrious names of departed heroes and patriots, 
nor let it ever bo forgotten, that the villages of Morley and Gildersomo supplied such men to the armies of 
( romwell, Fairfax, and Lambert. 



* Burnet'a Own Time, vol. 1, p. 130: 
t yEsop's Fable wcl illustrated In the seventeenth century. 



167 
APPENDIX IX. 



It seems highly probable that Mr. John Noble, M.A., of Christ's College, Cambridge, mentioned by Dr. 
Calamy, in Vol. II., p. 575, of his Memorial, succeeded Mr. Nesse, as Nonconformist Minister, at Morley. 
And this must have been about 1672 or 3. At all events he, or a gentleman of the same name, was 
instructing youths at Morley at this period, as appears from the MSS. of Mr. Joseph Lister, of Bradford, 
who, speaking of his son David, born in 1658, writes thus :—" He was greatly disadvantaged by his masters 
some years, yet at last he fell under the teaching of a good master; but I was put to table him five years. 
Then I got Mr. Noble to examine him, who found him to be well instructed ; but in a little time that 
master, whose name was Sturdie, left the school and became a Popish Priest, so I was then at a loss ; yet I 
went to Morley, where Mr. Noble taught school, and put my son under him— a diligent, faithful man, where 
my son profited much, and was fit for the University learning ; but not having a conveniency of disposing 
him at that time, he stayed and learned logick of him another year." 

Dr. Calamy's account of Mr. John Noble is so very short and imperfect, that one cannot be quite sure 
that he and Mr. Lister allude to the same gentleman, yet from various circumstances, I fancy they do. 
However, as there exists a doubt, I have thrown this memoir into the appendix. 



GLOSSARY 



WORDS COMMONLY USED AT MORLEY, 

AM) 

IN THE IMMEDIATE VICINITY THEREOF. 



A DDLE, to earn by labour. 

Agate, doing or performing work. 

Agatewards, to go agatewards, is to accompany. 

Akin, related, or of kindred. 

Anent, opposite to. 

Arr, a spot or freckle — hence the expression, an 
"arr toad." 

Arrand, a spider. 

Arrant, notorious or downright — thus we say, an 
" arrant rogue." 

Asker, a small lizard — also called a "newt." 

A spill — Espitt — Haspenald, a rude or silly clown. 
This appellation, I suspect to be as old as Edward 
the First's reign. See Archseol. vol. 16, p. 71. 
Perhaps it may come from ' ' Vespillones " — 
robbers or ruffians. Archseol. vol. 2, p. 278. 

BA WSON, a clamorous noisy person. 

Barns, children — as old as the times of Chaucer and 

Piers Ploughman. See Archseol. vol. 1, p. 17. 
Badger, a dealer in flour, meal, &c. 
Balk or Bawk, a beam. 
Baist, to beat — hence the term at Quadrille, 

"beasted," beaten. 
Bank, to disappoint. 
Book, size — for bulk. 
Bastard, a term of reproach for a mischievous or 

worthless boy. 
Beest, the first milk of a cow after calving. 
/>' ck, a rivulet. 
Bell, to bellow or roar. "Where the hertes* bell." 

See a stone near Wharncliff-Lodge. 
Bid, to invite. 
II ii<- 1, to beat soundly. 
Wink, to evade. 

Boon or Booming, a gratuitous assistance or service. 
Boggard, a ghost or apparition; also a term of 

reproach. 
Boggle, to take fright. 
Boken, to retch or vomit. 
Breward, the brim of a hat. 
Bray, to beat or hammer. 
Brach ns, ferns. 
Braids, resembles assimil 
Brat, a child's apron or " pin-a-fore." 
Brandrilh, an iron frame on which the Yorkshire 

pudding is baked. 



"Hertes." 



stag*. 



CARKESS, the body of a brute or human being. 

Call, to abuse or scold. 

Causey (causeway), a flagged or paved foot-path. 

Blount's Tens. p. 381. 
Cant, healthy or vigorous for one's years. 
Clammed, parched with thirst. 
Capt, posed or puzzled — thus, "I am capt," is, I 

am puzzled, or amazed. 
Clarty, splashy or sticky. 

Caft, is, with us, the same as daft {i.e. intimidated. ) 
Clout or Clart, to pelt, to beat, also to daub. 
Capper, is not only a puzzler, but a thing or person 

most excellent — " from caput, the head." 
Cowl, to scrape or collect together, hence cowler or 

cowlrake. 
Cappil, to mend the tops of shoes where the toe-end 

lies. 
Coivk, cinder, or the core of fruit (e.g. of an apple.) 
Cowlady, the small beetle, called in the South, the 

lady-bird. 
Click, to snatch at. 
Clout, to pelt — to beat — to patch. 
Crack, to boast — this is also a Scotch word. It is 

used by Latimer, Hooper, Tillotson, &c. See 

Gent's Magazine, May, 1820, p. 71. 
Crob, to tyrannize over a person. 
Crumpled, tumbled, ruffled, twisted. 
Cronk is to croak or sit in an idle posture. 
Cuddle or Huddle, to embrace ardently, accom- 
panied with hugging— hugging. 
Clungy, sticky — adhesive. 
Cute, smart, neat, clever. 
Clock, a beatle, or the noise of a hen when she ceases 

laying eggs. 
Cluther, to collect and crowd together. 
Cinglet, a waistcoat— ancient English. Archseol. 

vol. 16, p. 293. 
Cr<>,-<s-<ji\ii tied, ill-tempered or perverse. 
Cocker, to indulge immoderately, or make a pet of. 

DAFT or Dafted, timid -frightened. 

Dakerhen, Hie bird called the landrail. 

Din, a noise. 

Dither, to tremble or shake with cold. 

Dizzy, giddy, Btupified. 

Differ, to quarrel, or as it is at other times to 

"fratch." 
Doff, to pull off one's clothes. 
Don, to put them, on, or dress, oneself. 



169 



Ding-one-up, is to reproach one with his past faults 

or misfortunes. 
Down- it-mouth, dejected, dispirited. 
Donch, dainty of appetite. 
Docken, the Rumex Obtusifolius or dock. ArchseoL 

vol. 17, p. 145. 
Dole, a donation. 

Doit, (doat) to be in one's dotage or crazy. 
Dulberhead, a blockhead or stupid fellow. 
Dule, devil. 

Dike, a ditch — to ditch. 
Dunnock, or a "Dicky Dunnock," is a hedge 

sparrow. 
Drinkinga or Drinks, refreshment between meals, a 

custom at least as old as Henry the Sixth's riegn. 

See Forster's Perennial Calendar, p. 483. 

END WA YS, forwards — thus, " to come endways," 

is, to hasten the step. 
Ealing, a leaning or inclining — hence the ealing of a 

house. 
Expect, to suppose or conjecture. 
Filer, an alder tree. 
Egg-on, to "egg one on," is, to urge one on. See 

Speed, p. 641. 

FINKILL* fennell — ancient English — from fceni- 
culum — hence Finkill-Street. See more about 
this word in "NYhitaker's Richmondshire, p. 17 ; 
but Clarkson gives the best explanation. Finkell- 
Street, properly translated, is Crooked-Street. 

Fanticles, freckles on the skin. 

Fend, activity, or to bestir oneself, also to defend 
oneself. "Fending and proving" — ancient ex- 
pression. See Hone's Table Book, vol. 1, p. 492. 

Fettle, condition or state ; i. e. fat or lean — clean or 
dirty, &c. 

Fettle, to clean or make neat — also to thrash or beat. 
I do not know a word which will try if a man be 
of Yorkshire, better than this ; it being used in a 
threefold sense, at least in our West-Biding. 

Flacker, to flutter or tremble. 

Flay, to frighten. 

Flit, to remove or quit one's dwelling. 

Flite, to scold. 

Fleet, skimmed — hence the fleeting disk for cream. 

FUgged, just feathered. A fligger is a kite without 
bow. 

Fog, after-grass — when the hay crop has come off. 

Footing, a treat given by one commencing trade or 
business. 

Fond, silly, foolish, amorous. 

Foist, bitter, brackish. 

Fondling, one of a servile or sycophantic nature. 

Frame, to set about doing a piece of work (imp.) 
" now, frame." 

Fram, fragile — easily broken. 

Fother, to supply cattle with fresh provision. Til- 
son's Letter. 

Foid, ugly. 

Favor d, featured as to countenance — to be "ill 
favor'd," is bad looking. 

Foreend, early part of {<'.g.) the day — or of one's 
time. Shalcspear's Cymb. 

Fey, to clear away, or to "fey in," is to spread 
abroad manure. 

* Fincle — Vincle— Wynekel— is a Belgic word for angle or 
corner, says Clarkson— History of EUchmondshire, p. 65 

I'inkel-Street, is, therefore, Crooked or Winding street, and 
not Fennel-Street. Dr. Whitaker could make nothing of tin- 
word. 



Fettered, entangled — from feltrare. 

FroWy* a loose woman. This is ancient English. 

Stowe, p. 4o4. 
Freeh, to be tipsy — to be drunk, is generally called 

"to be full." 
Fratch, to quarrel. 

Feel, to smell — this ancient word is before noticed. 
Frump, affront. See Speed, p. 432. 
Frump, to rebuke sharply. 
Fuzball, a fungus. 

<>'.\ UVISON", an awkward staring clown. 
Gavelock, an iron crow or lever. This seems an 

Anglo-Saxon word. 

Gate, a road or May — hence to go "agatewards 
gate is the Saxon word for way. See Pennant's 
London, p. 309. 

Gaumless, idiotic, impotent, sen-. 

Gawkshaw, a left-handed person.— Gawky, is awk- 
ward. 

Garth, a yard or other inclosure. 

Gain, near, ready, convenient. Sec Lcland's Itine- 
rary, vol. 1, p. 52. 

Gizzened, rattling of the throat from strangulation. 

Gelt, barren or impotent — a gelt pair of partridges 
are a barren pair. 

Glent, a fleeting view or hasty sight. 

Glee, to squint. 

Glare, a bold, impudent, stare, or fixing of the eyes. 

Girn, to grin. Old Latimer, in one of his sermons, 
says — "I have heard say, that in some places 
they go with the corses, 'girning' and 'flearing,' 
as though they went to a beare bayting, which 
thing, no doubt, is 'nought.'" This is a line 
specimen of our Yorkshire dialect. 

Greek, the last of a progeny, i.e. litter of pigs, for 
instance. 

Grime, to blacken with soot, or a burnt stick. 

Goodman, master. Luke xxii., v. 11. "Goodman 
James," &c, we read of in English History ; and 
we find it in our "Nomine" on riding the stang — 
Mrs. has beat her Goodman i.e. MasU r. 

Gytrash, an evil spirit or ghost, sometimes called a 
"padfoot," resembling a bear. 

HAP, to wrap or cover up warmly. Hence "Hap- 

harlot," a warm covering. 
Haggle, to cut awkwardly, or attempt to lower a 

bargain. 
Hague*, the fruit of the hawthorn. Hence "Hag- 

bush- Lane," near London. 
Jhdsh, to tie or fasten— also a noose or knot. 
Heps, the fruit of the briar. 
Haxpenald or Haspill, a boy shot up like an aspen. 

"Aid" is the diminutive word of aspen. 
//<//,+ a fool. 1 fence "Hal of Kirklces." where, no 

doubt, a Jester was formerly kept. Whether 
this be not an ancient word Shakspcare may 

declare. 

HankU d, entangled —incumbered. 

* The Froes were the Bawds of Flander$. They inhabited 
the Stews of London; which, in Richard theSeoond'i n 
were rented t»y the celebrated sir \\ m Walworth, the Lord 
Mayor. Hero we have a envious Illustration of Henry 
the Eighth's Oath regarding Ann of < leves, whom he called a 
treat i Landers Mare. Bee also Pennanl a London, | 

t Not only our Kinps and Nobility, but principal Gentry, 
in former times, kept fools, or rather r they were, 

in (net, very clever fellows, an i had generally far more 
h> well as humour. than their masters. Cardinal W 
valued ins fool " Patch ' (whom be tenl m i preterit to Henry 
sih; at u thousand pounds, 



17'.' 



Hamstll, the first us.' of anything. 

Haver, oaten hence haver cake old English bread, 

called 1>\ those who do aot know ho^ good it is, 

•• horse- bread." 
Hask, dry, parched. 
//■■ . - ton, " heaJ I rram- 

mar. 

<t, I/'... ) it .1. w B, or, small rain falls. 
Hippins, clothes or wrappers for the posteriors of 

children. 

■■'. a bird called the wood], 
Hocl mmer or hesitate, when about* to tell 

a lie. 
Helm, a shade I lo-Saxon "haclme." 

Hitch or Itchy to move quick— "come bitch," is, 

come move. 
Heron-sew, a heron was formerly a dainty at our 

King's tables. 
HvrkU or lrkle, to contract the body, and lay still, 
the toad does, 
a rack for hay — Belgic "heck." 
Huddle, to end. race ardently, with arms folded. 
Hug, to carry. 
HiiUut, seemingly a corruption of owlet, a young 

owl. 
Hide, to beat soundly. 
Hobble, a difficulty or state of perplexity. 
Hoomd, wearied/ sadly fatigued. It comes from 

" hind,'' a slave. 
Huggans, the hips— from the Saxon "hogan," a 

hearer of the body. 
Hyped, gored with the horn of a beast. 

KEELEB, a cooler — Saxon "celan," to be cold. 
Archaeol. v. 20, p. 277. 

K'f, carrion. 

Kist, a chest — ancient English word. Ex. "kist- 
vaen." 

Kittle, crafty, wary, or to tickle. 

K\ Ive, to heave up or overthrow. 

Kensbaek, of crooked or perverse disposition. This 
word I suspect to be very ancient. Edmund, 
second son of Henry 3rd. was called "Crouch- 
back."* Parsons, the Jesuite, was called "Cow- 
back." See Speed, page 875. Richard 3rd — 
" Crook-back." 

Knague, to gnaw. 

Kit, a milking-pail. 

Knowl, to towl (e.tj. ) a bell. 

Kuss, a kiss — but kuss was the ancient pronun- 
ciation. 

LAITHE, a barn— hence Laithkirk. See Note, 

p. 13. 
Lace, to beat. 
Lark or Lowk, to weed. 
Leek, to sprinkle or drain off. 
Leeks, droppings hence " Leccages" or Leakages. 
Langsettle, a long Beat with a high back, common in 

alehi 
Lake or Laik, to play — hence the ancient "Laikins" 
playthii 
or Lief, to prefer— an ancient word. See 
e, p. 717. 



i ■)<■']> - 1 1 f l \- called a crouch, and red. crosses of 

worn u mi the binder part of the gainienta of 

rowed, pilgrimag b to Jerusalem, gave rlBe 

Croucboaci i k, corrupted Into 

Crookba i: Hence the term " Crutcl ana the libel 

about Richard the Third's defoni 



Lurden, lazy. "^Archneol. v. 7, p. 256. Ditto, vol. 

17. p. 156. 
Lig, to lay with or upon. James 1st used this word 
\ commonly. " My Lord, I bear, ye do not 

' lig' with my Lady." 
Lithing, stiffening or thickening of (''..'/.) gruel. 
/.moot Lou-, red — on a glow ancient word — "lilly- 

low" — a bright flame. Hence, perhaps, Loo-Hill, 

(}.( . ) Beacon-HilL 
Leathering, an ancient term for beating. See Fos- 

broke. 
Locker or Lockyer, an appendage to a box, also a 

cupboard. Gent.'s Mag. for 1S03, p. 1125. 
Lops, fleas. 

Lubberhead, a stupid fellow. 

Luhberwort, that which makes idle or stupid. An- 
drew Boorde. 
7 ick, to beat or thrash. 
Leet, to happen or fall out — also to alight — to "leet 

on" is, to meet with. 
Lippen, to expect or depend on. 
I. ug, to pull one's hair. 

J f ADDLE, to talk incoherently— maddled — stupi- 

fied. 
Mauks, maggots. 

f Tacks, sorts — all macks — all sorts. 
Mastlegin, a mixture of corn, especially rye, with 

flour or wheat. 
Marrow, a pair — fellow to — correspondent to. 
Matter, to disprove of — as " I dont matter him." 
Maunder, a low grumble or talking to onesself. 
Meeierly, tolerably well. 
MitMns, hedger's strong leather gloves having a 

thumb-sockett but no fingers. 
Mell, to meddle or interfere with. 
Well, a mall or wooden hammer. 
Melsh, warm or mild, with an inclination to 

moisture. 
^Fence or Menceful, decent, cleanly, respectable. 
Midding or Midden, a dung-hill. See Clarkson's 

Eichmond, p. 23. 
'lizzie, to rain slightly or dew. 
'Fistul, the cow-house. 
Fathered, decayed. 
fiddling, tolerably well. 
' ridge, a small gnat. 
'fummers. morice dancers. 
Ifouldewarp, a mole. This word is common with 

our old Historians — especially Speed and Hall. 
\foulter, a miller's pay in flour, &c. for grinding. 
Muck, dirt. See Nichols's Leicestershire, vol. 6, 
p. 2— 3S0. 

XANPIE, a magpie. 

Nazzald, an insignificant lad — "aid," as in hespi- 

nald. 
N"aup, to strike one on the head. 
Xcsh or Nesh, fragile. 
Nifle, to steal by a little at each time. 

Y< b, a point, beak, or bill, as applied to a bonnet 
or bird. 

V< wt or Ash r, a small lizzard — ancient word. 

VengnaiU, corns on the feet. 

Vudge, to jog with the elbow, especially to beckon. 

ONELT, lonely, solitary. 
\m 11 or Ouizle, a blackbird. 
Us or 0it8, refuse, hay, &C. left by cattle, 
'7, r, the alder tree. 



171 



PARKIN, a cake made of oatmeal and treacle. 
Pick, an emetic — also v, to vomit — to throw down, 

&c. 
Pause, to kick. 
Pockarr'd, marked with the small pox. Arr'd is 

spotted, marked. See ante. 
Piggin, a small pail, with one handle, all of wood. 
Posnet or Postnet, an iron pot of small size, and one 

handle. This is an ancient utensil and word. 

See Archaeol, vol. 17, p. 70. 
Pynot, a magpie. 

QUISIIIX or Wishin, a cushion, but spelt by 
Chaucer as it is pronounced here, and spelt in 
the Topcliffe Register. 

Quandary, a difficulty — or state of amazement. 

Queer, strange. 

Quarrel, a small diamond pane of glass. 

PAT TEX, a rat. This word may teach us how 
careful we should be in our etymologies. See 
also the word ' ' finkle. " 

Raffle-copjjiii, a loose, vagrant, turbulent fellow. 

Ram, foetid — " as ram as a fox." 

Rapscallion, much the same as raffle-coppin. 

Maggabrash, ragamuffins, or despicable folk. 

Rannal or Raddle, to ruffle or rub up the hair. See 
p. 197. 

Raps, news — " what raps ? " 

Reek, smoke — rec or rcec is Saxon. — See Bosworth, 
p. 66. 

Ratch, to stretch — hence also to tell a He or ex- 
aggerate. 

Reckon, to suppose. Saxon "reccan " bos. 

Roupy, hoarse — ancient word. Arclueol, vol. 17, 
p. 156. 

Rig, the back, or ridge — hence "righold" — "rig- 
tree," &c. 

Righold, "ubi Testiculus Unus in dorso " retinetur 
— a term of abuse. 

Roar, to weep (roaring is crying). 

Reentry or Roynetree, the mountain ash — wiggin or 
witch hazle — supposed a sovereign antidote against 
witchcraft. 

Runs-thin or "thin-it-kit" — (/. e.) — when a person 
breaks his engagement. 

Run-the-rig is, to make a butt of any one. 

Rumbustical, noisy — overbearing. 

Roumy, spacious — "room" — a room. 

SAID, to be soon "said" is, to be soon quieted, 

or put down. 
Sam, to collect. 

Seime, fat or grease — hence swine seime. 
Seek or Suck, a bag, a word of .similar sound in 

most languages. 
Sacklesa, simple -impotent — helpless. 
Scrat, scratch — the itch — hence '-Old Scrat" — the 

devil. 
Scraffle, to quarrel, to scramble, to be industrious. 
Sleek, a small coal. 
Seg, a castrated bull. 
Skitter, to spill or slop. 
Slawer, saliva or spittle — to foam at the mouth 

— ancient Engushword. Hone's Table Book, 

v. 1, p. 493. 
Sludge, mud. 
Shunt, to give way, or not preserve the original 

position. 
Slack, slow, loose— also a flat low piece of ground. 
Smittle, contagion—/ 1 , to infect. 



Snavvle, to speak through the nose. 
Sneck, the latch of a door. 
Snert, to snear at, or laugh to scorn. 
Snape, to check. 

Start, to splash. 

Snig, to cut off 

Snod, smooth. 

Sken, to look askance. 

Spane, to wean. 

Spice, sweet meats. 

Steik. to latch (e. g. ) a door. 

Sim or Sew, a sow — the plural of which would be 
sews, — or spelt "sues." See Note below. 

Steim, to bespeak. 

Stang, a long pole. 

Stub, to break, or become ruined — also to grub up. 

Stee, a ladder. 

Storken, to stiffen, or get cool. 

Steg, a gander. 

Store, estimation or regard to " set store by." 

Stir, a disturbance or commotion. 

Stalled, wearied, surfeited, disgusted. 

Skuft, the "skuft of the neck" seems to name of 
it. 

Shot, an account or sum owing — ancient word. In 
Queen Elizabeth's reign, there was a custom at 
Chester (then called an ancient one) for the 
Alderman, Justices, &c. to meet every Sunday 
in the Inner Pentice, to have "a shot" or a 
drinking, and every man to spend a penny — 
Lyson's Mag. Brit. v. 2, p. 601. 

Soft, simple. 

Steil, a handle. 

Shut, to get rid of — also to spend extravagantly. 

SpeVe, a splinter, or stick pointed for thatching. 

Stutf, to stammer. 

Swap, to exchange. 

Swarm, to climb with the knee (c. g. ) up a tree. 

Sir, itch, some experience — or a scrap of. 

Sivaymous, squemish — shy. 

Swinge, to whip with a rod, or to burn. 

Sweal, to melt rapidly. 

Sturdy, sulky and obstinate. 

Skeltered, shrunk or bent. 

Skill, to know or understand. 

Sparrables, nails usually put into clogs. 

Spurring*, banns of marriage — or askings at Church. 

Swelt, to sweat or perspire profusely. 

Switch, a twig — also v. to beat lightly. 

Succor, boild treacle or sugar. This word sueear, 
as well as succarcande is mentioned in the 
Clifford's Household Book. Whalley, Anno 1521. 
See History of, p. 100. 

TASTRILL, a knave or mischievous fellow. This 
ancient word is a corruption of kesterell, or 
rather coystrell. See Arelueologia, v. 17. page 
143. 

Taws, marbles. "He cuekt his taw and shot his 
bolt." 

Tent, to hinder to take, to take care of. 

T> ng, to -tin--. 

'/'</'■, to work well together or blend ; also to tire. 

rife, as soon — as near — a word of preference, gen- 
erally. 

Tigg, to touch — also a game something like 
" barley break." 

Norn v writer in voL 22 of the Ajchseelogia (near the 
end) ie quite confounded with thii word "8uee;"for which 
beadviepstu to r.-:i l " Munt" ha I ah I ah I Sad he 
bcua a Yorklhireman. lie wuukl known what ft " Sue " U- 



17l> 



Throttle, to squeeze tlio windpipe, or strangle. 

ThroppU, the throat 

Threap, to maintain vehemently. 

77/.//.-, to thatch (an ancient word). 

Thoil, to bestow without grudging. 

'/'"]>. a ram. 

Thrash, any worthless thing— a hindrance — also a 

cord to check, page 195. 
T>riii'i< , an earwig. 
Trig, to till "Trig thee laury"— fill thy belly. 

Trig— Alveus. 
Tusstl, t«> strive, or wrestle with. 
Ta-iiK ;/, fretful— perversa 



URCHIN, an hedgehog. 

WAST El I EMIT, alas! or 
This is a peculiar phrase, 
a is seen in Wae-worth-thee. 



woe is the heart. 
The change of o into 



Ware, to expend or lay out. 

War, worse. 

Work, work (ancient word) also to ache. 

WatU r, water— anciently pronounced waiter. 

Wearing, a consumption or decline. 

Whap, to l>eat soundly. 

Whale is the same — it means to make one " wail " 

or lament. 
Wins, furze. 

Whopper, any thing of extraordinary size. 
Whittle, a large knife called by Chaucer a "Thwittle." 
Wisht, a command to be silent — or silence. 
Wick, a weed, or to pull up bad grass, also alive. 
Wither, a quick motion, accompanied with sound. 
Wizzened, withered. 
Wackering, shaking — trembling. 

YA TE, a sate. 



FINIS. 



Trintcd by Si Stead, "Observer" Office, Commercial Street, Morlcy* 



SELECTIONS FROM 

CASSELL PETTER & GALPIN'S PUBLICATIONS. 



ILLUSTRATED AND FINE ART WORKS. 



Art Studies of Home Life. With Twenty- 
four full-page Copies, printed by the Woodbury 
Process, of Famous Pictures by Collins, Leslie, 
Landseer, Mulkeady, Maclise, Sir Joshua 
Reynolds, Webster, &c. With Descriptive 
Letter-press by GODFREY TURNER. Demy 4to, 
cloth elegant, gilt edges, 15s. 

Sketching from Nature in Water- Colours. 

By AARON PenleV, Author of "The English 
.School of Painting in Water-Colours, " &c. With 
Illustrations in Chromo Lithography, after Original 
Water-Colour Drawings. Super-royal 4to, cloth. 
15s. 

The National Portrait Gallery. Containing 

Twenty Portraits, in Colours', oi our most distin- 
guished Celebrities, printed in the highest style of 
Chromo-Lithography, with accompanying Memoirs, 
compiled from authentic sources. Extra crown 4to, 
cloth, 12s. 6d. 

Shakespeare's Comedies. Complete. Printed 

in new large type on royal 4to paper, and bound in 
cloth, bevelled gilt edges, £1 is. 

Homely Scenes from Great Painters, con- 
taining Twenty four beautiful full-page Copies of 
Famous Pictures, printed by the Woodbury Process. 
The Text consists of a Series of Essays by Godfrey 
Turner. Demy 4to, cloth gilt, gilt' edges, 15s. 

Pictures from English Literature. With 

Twenty full-page Illustrations by E. M. Ward, 
R.A., J. C. Horsley, R.A., Sir }. Gilbert, W. F. 
Yeames, A.R.A., Marcus Stone, J. D. Watson, 
and others. Ornamental Chapter-heads and Title- 
page by T. SULMAN. The Text bv J. F. WALLER, 
LL.D. Cloth, lettered, 7s. 6d. ;' cloth gilt, gilt 
edges, 1 os. 6d. 



Poems and Pictures. With about ico highly- 

finished Engravings, bv I. C. HORSLEY, R.A., 

C. W. Cope, R.A., F. R. Pickersgii.l, R.A., 

SELOUS, &c. &c. Fcap. 4to, 250 pp. Very hand- 
somely bound in extra gilt cloth, 21s. 

Illustrated Travels: A Record of Discovery, 
Geography, and Adventure. Edited by H. W. 
Bates, Assistant-Secretary of the Roval Geogra- 
phical Society. Complete m tf Volumes. 

Now ready, containing nearly 200 Engravings in 
each volume. Royal 4to, 15s. cloth, or 18s. cloth, 
gilt edges, each. 

Cassell's Illustrated Shakespeare. With 

500 Illustrations by H. C. SELOUS. Edited by 
Charles and Mary Cowden Clarke. Com- 
plete in Three Vols., 2,168 pp., cloth, lettered, 
£1 15s.; half morocco, £2 10s. 

The World of Wit and Humour. With 

about 400 Illustrations. Super-royal 8vo, 480 pp., 
cloth, 7s. 6d.; cloth gilt, gilt edges,' 10s. 6d. 

jEsop's Fables. New and Enlarged Edition. 
With 150 Original Illustrations by Ernest Griset, 
Imperial 8vo, 430 pp., cloth, 7s. 6d. ; gilt edges, 
10s. 6d. 

The World of Wonders. A Record of Things 

Wonderful in Nature, Science, and Art. Imperial 
8vo, 500 pp., with 130 Illustrations. Cloth, 7s. 6d.; 
cloth gilt, gilt edges, 10s. 6d. 

The Races of Mankind. Bv Robt. Brown. 

M.A., F.R.G.S. Vols. 1., II., and III., Illustrated 
throughout, 384 pp., extra crown 4to, cloth, 6s. 
each. Vols. I. and II. in One, 10s. 6d. 

Cassell's Arabian NigllTS. With 350 Illustra- 
tions. 760 pages, extra crown 4to, cloth bevelled, 
gilt edges, 12s. 6d. 



THE DORE FINE ART VOLUMES. 



The Dore Gallery. Containing 250 of the 
finest Drawings of Gustave Dore, selected from 
the " Dore 1 Bible," "Milton's Paradise Lost," 
"Dante's Inferno" and " Purgatorio and Paradiso," 
&c. With Descriptive Letterpress and Memoir by 
Edmund Ollier. Folio, cloth gilt, One Vol., 
complete, ^5 5s.; cloth gilt, in Two Vols., £5 10s. ; 
full morocco elegant, £\o. 
1 

The Dore Bible. With 230 Illustrations by 
GUSTAVE Dork. 1,600 pp., small folio, Two Vols., 
cloth, ffi ; morocco, ,£12; full morocco elegant, /i 5. 

Dante's Inferno. With Seventy-six full-page 
Engravings \>\ GUSTAVE Dork. Translated by 
Rev II. F. CARY, M.A. Crown folio, cloth, £2 10s.; 
elegantly bound in full morocco, £6 6s. 

Dante's Purgatory and Paradise. With 
Sixty Full-page Engravings by GUSTAVE Dork. 
Uniform with the INFERNO, and same price. 

La Fontaine's Fables. With Eighty-six full- 

and numerous smaller Engravings by GUSTAVE 
Dor£. Royal ;to. 840 pages, cloth gilt, £1 10s.; 
full morocco, £3 10s. 



Milton's Paradise Lost. With full-page Illus- 
trations by Gustave Dork. With Notes and a 
Life of Milton by the late Rev. R. VAUGHAN, D D. 
New Edition, 400 pages, imperial 4to, cloth gilt, 
£2 ios.; full morocco elegant, £6 6s. 

Don Quixote. With about 400 Illustrations by 
Gustave Dork. Royal 4to, cloth, £1 ios. ; full 
morocco, £3 ios. 

Atala. By Chateaubriand. With Thirty full- 
page and many smaller Engravings by GUSTAVE 
Dork. Cloth, New and Cheaper Edition, £1 is. 

Days of Chivalry ; being tho Legend of 

Crcqwemitame. With nearly 200 Illustra- 
tions by Gustave Dork. The Text by TOM 
Hood. Royal 4to, cloth, ios. 6d. 

Adventures of Baron Munchausen. With 
Thirty-one full-page Engravings by ( ir.M w 1 l 
Royal 4to, cloth, ios. 6d. 

Legend of tho Wandering . ; With 

Twelve Large Designs by Gusi \. Polio, 

cloth, 15s.; extra gilt, 21s. 



Cabell Fetter 6- Galpin ; Lvdgate Hill. London; Paris. ■ York, 



10 1. 1175 



va- from Cassell Fetter &> Galpin's Fuel/cations. 



STANDARD WORKS. 



British Battles on Land and Soa. By James 

GRANT, Author of ''The Romance of War." 

Complete in Three Volumes, with about 200 En- 

ngs m each, extra crown .jto, 576 pp., cloth, 

9s. each. 

Cassell's Illustrated History of England, 
from the Earliest Period to the Present Time. New 
TONED PAPER EDITION. With about 2,000 Illus- 
trations. Post 4to, 5.500 pp. Complete in Nine 
Volumes, bound in cloth, 9s. each. The Volumes 
can be had separately. 

Cassell's Illustrated History of the War 
between France and Germany. Com- 
plete in Two Vols., with about 500 Engravings and 
Plans of the Battle-fields. Extra crown 4to, cloth 
gilt, 9s. each ; or Two Vols., half calf, £1 ios. 

Cassell's History of the United States. 

VOL. I., with 200 Illustrations and Maps. Extra 
crown 4to, 620 pages, cloth, 9s. {To be completed 
in 3 Volumes.) 

The History of Protestantism. By the Rev. 
]. A. Wylie, LL.D. Vol. I., with upwards of 
200 Original Illustrations. Extra crown 4to, 620 
pages, cloth, 9s. {To be completed in 3 Vols.) 

Old and New London. A Narrative of its 

History, its People, and its Places. Vols. I., II., 
and III. now ready, with about 200 Engravings 
each. Extra crown 4to, 576 pp., cloth, 9s. each. 



Cassell's Household Guide. 

every Department of Practical 



A Guide to 
Life. With 
numerous Coloured Cookery Plates, and Illustrations 
on nearly everv page. Complete in Four Vols., 
cloth gilt, price 6s. each ; or Two Vols., half calf, 
£1 ns. 6d. 

Cassell's New Popular Educator. Re- 
vised to the Present Date, with numerous Additions. 
Complete in Six Vols., 412 pp. each, cloth, 6s. each ; 
or Three Vols., half calf, £2 ios. 

Cassell's Popular Eecreator. A Guide and 

Key to Indoor and Outdoor Amusement. Complete 
in Two Vols., containing about 500 Illustrations 
each, extra crown 4to, cloth, 6s. each ; or the Two 
Vols, in One, ios. 6d. 

Cassell's Technical Educator. Complete in 

Four Vols., each containing Coloured Frontispiece 
and numerous Illustrations. Extra crown 4to, 
416pp., cloth, 6s. each; or Two Vols., half calf, 
31s. 6d. 

Cassell's Illustrated Goldsmith. With 108 

Engravings. Imperial 8vo, cloth, 7s. 6d. ; full gilt 
cloth, gilt edges, ios. 6d. 

Cassell's Gulliver's Travels. With Eighty- 
eight Engravings by Morten. Imperial 8vo, 400 pp., 
cloth, 7s. 6d. ; full gilt cloth, gilt edges, ios. 6d. 

Illustrated Readings. Containing about 500 

choice Selections from the English Literature of all 
ages. First and Second Series. Each Series 
complete in One Volume. Profusely Illustrated. 
Cloth, each, 7s. 6d.; cloth, gilt edges, ios. 6d. 



POPULAR WORKS ON NATURAL HISTORY. 



the new and cheaper editions of 

LOUIS F1GUIE1VS Popular SCIENTIFIC IVOR AS, 

containing- all the Original Illustrations, the Text 

Revised and Corrected, price 7s. 6d. each, comprise : — 

The Human Race. Newly Edited and Re- 
vised by Rohert Wilson, Fellow of the Royal 
Physical Society, Edinburgh. With 242 Illustra- 
tions. 

Mammalia. Revised and Corrected by Professor 
E. Perceval Wright, M.D. With 260 Illustra- 
tions. 

The World before the Deluge. With 233 

Illustrations. Fifth Edition. Revised and Corrected 
by H. W. Bristow, F.R.S. 

The Ocean World. With 427 Illustrations. 

Third Edition. Revised and Corrected by Professor 
E. Perceval Wright, M.D. 

Reptiles and Birds. With 300 Illustrations. 

Second Edition. Revised and Corrected by 

< aptain Parker Gillmore. 

The Insect World. With 576 Illustrations. 
Fourth Edition. Revised by Prof. Duncan, M.D., 
F.R.S. 



The Vegetable World. 

Third Edit ion. Revised 

Eminent l'oi .wist. 



With 470 Illustrations. 
and Corrected by an 



Cassell's Brehm's Book of Birds. Trans- 
lated from the Text of Dr. Brehm, by Professor T. 
Rymer Jones, F.R.S. With upwards of 400 En- 
gravings on Wood, and numerous full-page Plates, 
printed in Colours, from Original Designs by E. W. 
KEYL. Complete in Four Volumes, 4to, cloth, 
7s. 6d.; cloth gilt, gilt edges, ios. each; or Two 
Volumes, half calf, £2 2s. 

The Book of the Horse. By Samuel Sidney, 

Manager of the Islington Horse Show, &c. With 
25 fac-simile Coloured Plates, from Original Paint- 
ings, and upwards of 100 Wood Engravings. Demy 
4to, cloth gilt, 31s. 6d. ; half morocco, gilt edges, 
£2 2S. 

Transformations of Insects. By Professor 
P. Martin Duncan, M.D., F.R.S. With about 
250 Illustrations. New and Cheaper Edition. Now 
ready, demy 8vo, cloth, 7s. 6d. 

Cassell's Popular Natural History. With 

about 2,000 Engravings and Coloured Plates. 
Complete in Four Vols., cloth, £2 2s. 

The Illustrated Book of Poultry. By!L. 

WRIGHT. A Complete and Practical'Treatise on 
the Breeding, Rearing, and Management of .every 
known variety of Poultry. With 50 exquisitely 
Coloured Plates of Prize Birds, painted from Life, 
and numerous Engravings. Demy 4to, 600. pp., 
cloth bevelled, gilt edges, 31s. 6d. ; half morocco, 
gilt edges, £2 2s. 



Cassell Fetter &> Galpin : Ludgate Hill, London ; Faris; and Hew York. 



Selections from Cassell Fetter c^ Galpin's Publications. 



EDUCATIONAL WORKS. 



A First Sketch of English Literature. 

By HENRY Morley, Professor of English Liter- 
ature at University College, and Examinerin English 
Language, Literature, and History to the University 
of London. Third Edition. Crown 8vo, 912 pp., 
cloth, 9s. Issued also in Three Parts, price 35. 6d. 
each. 

A Complete Manual of Spelling. On the 

Principles of Contrast and Comparison. By J. D. 
Morell, LL.D., H.M. Inspector of Schools. 
Fortieth Thousand. Crown 8vo, 128 pp., cloth, is. 

Elementary English History. By C. S. 

Da we, B.A., and W. LAWSON, F.R.G.S. Cheap 
Edition, cloth, is. 6d. Superior Edition, boards, 
2s. 6d. 

The Animal Kingdom. By Ellis A. David- 
son. With numerous Illustrations. Twentieth 
Thousand, Revised and Corrected. Cloth, is. 6d. 

Cassell's Elementary Arithmetic. 



over 3,000 examples. 
Each separate, 6d. 



With 
is. 6d. ; or with Key, is. 9d. 



in Easy Lessons. 

F.R.S. Third Edition. 



Natural Philosophy 

By Professor Tyndall, 
Cloth, 2s. 6d. 

Euclid, Cassell's. Edited by Professor Wallace, 
A.M. One Hundred and Tenth Thousa?id. 8vo, 
216 pp., stiff covers, is. ; cloth, is. 6d. 

Algebra (Elements of), Cassell's. Crown 

8vo, cloth, is. 6d. 

Cassell's French-English and English- 

Krencn Dictionary. New and Revised Edition. 
By Professors De Lolme and Wallace. Crown 
8vo, 956 pages, cloth, 3s. 6d. 

An Elementary Manual of Music. By 

Henry Leslie. Second Edition. Cloth, is. 

Little Folks' History of England. By Isa 

Craig-Knox. With Thirty Illustrations. New and 
Cheaper Edition. Cloth, is. 6d. 



Cassell's Graduated Copy-Books, printed 
on superior Writing Paper. Complete in 12 Books, 
price 2d. each. 

Cassell's Penny Drawing Copies, complete 

in 28 Books, price id. each. 

Cassell's Sixpenny Drawing Copies, com- 
prising Five beries of Books. Each Series complete 
in Twelve Parts, price 6d. each ; Twelve Packets on 
Cardboard, price is. each ; or One Volume, cloth, 
7s. 6d. 

A Course of Sepia Painting. With 24 

Plates from Designs by R. P. LEITCH. Oblong 4to, 
cloth, price 5s. 

A Course of Painting in Neutral Tint. 

With 24 Plates from Designs by R. P. Llitch. 
Oblong 4to, cloth, price 5s. 

Water-Colour Painting-Book. By R. P. 

Leitch. With 24 Coloured Plates. Third Edition. 
Cloth, 5s. 

Cassell's German-English and English- 
German t ronouncmg Dictionary. Nraj 
Edition. Crown 8vo, 864 pages, cloth, 3s. 6d. 

Cassell's Latin-English and English- 
Latin Dictionary. 914 pages, demy 8vo, cloth, 
3s. 6d. 

CALBRAITH AND HAUCHTON'S SCIENTIFIC MANUALS. 

By the Rev. Professor Galbraith, M.A., Fellow of 
Trinity College, Dublin, and the Rev. Professor 
Haughton, M.D., D.C.L., F.R.S. 



Containing nearly s.ooj 



Cassell s New Code Series, comprising works 

specially prepared for use in Elementary and other 
Schools in accordance with the provisions of the New 
Code. {A detailed List of Cassell's New Code Series, 
containing Specimen Pages, Qfc, post free on appli- 
cation.) 

%* A compute List of Cassell Better & Galpin's Educational ~ Works will be found in 

Educational Catalogue, a copy of which will be £™W^ *w *1 "J/ °! [* ' theit 



Manual of Arithmetic. 

Examples. Cloth, 3s. 6d. 
Manual of Plane Trigonometry. Cloth, 2S . 6d. 
Manual ol Euclid. Hooks I., II HI. Cloth, 2S . 6d 
Manual ol £.uclid. Books IV., V., VI. cloth, 2S . 6d. 
Manual oi Mathematical Tables. Cloth, 3 s. 6d 
Manual ol Mechanics. Cloth, 3 s 6d 
Manual ol' Optics. Cloth, 2 s. 6d 
Manual of Hydrostatics. Cloth, 3 s. 6d 
Manual of Tides and Tidal Currents. New Edition, 

with Tidal Cards. Cloth. 3s. 
Manual of Astronomy. Cloth 5 s 
Manual ol tne to team Engl e. Cloth, «. 6d. 
Manual of Algebra. Third Edition, Part I , cloth, as. 6d 

Complete, cloth, 7s. 6d. 
The Tii.r«e KingUums of A'ature. II 

5 s - 
A Manual of Natural Philosophy. 
Cloth, 3s. id. 



ustrated. Cloth 
With 160 Illus 



ofy of which will be forwarded post free on application. 



BOOKS FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE, 



Little Folks, Vols. I. and II. of the New 

AND ENLARGED Scries, each containing nearly 500 

Pictures. Coloured boards, 3s. 6d. ; cloth gilt, 

gilt edges, 5s. eac'i. 

Vols. I. to VI 1 1, of the First Series of Little Folks are still 

on Sale, price 3s. each, co'oured boards ; or 5s. each, cloth -lit. 

*,• " Littlb Folks" is published in Weekly Numbers id • 

in Monthly Parts, 6d. ; and in Half-yearly Volumes' ys. ' 

The Little Folks' Picture Gallery. Con- 
taining upwards of 150 Beautiful Pictures, with 
accompanying Rhymes by the Author of "Home 
( hat." Fourth Edition, En la) 
cloth gilt, gilt edges, 5s. 

Paws and Claws: being True Stories of Clever 
( features, Tame and Wild. By one of the Authors 
of "Poems Written for a Child." Profusely Illus- 
trated. Second Edition. Fcap. p.. cloth gilt, qs. 



Crown 4to, 



Hymns and Poems for Little Folks. (Uni- 
form with the "Children's Album.") Containing a 
charming Collection of the favourite Hymn, and 
Poems. With X50 Pull-page Illustrations. Super- 
royal i6mo, 320 pages, cloth, 3s. 6d. 

The Old Fairy Tales. A choice Collection of 
Favourite Fairy Tales. Collected and Edited by 
James mason. With 24 Full-page and numerous 
other Original Illustrations. Super-royal 
cloth, 2S. 6d. ' 

Peeps Abroad for Folks at Home, ft 

C. L. Mati.ux. Uniform with "Home Chat,' 
• l,1(1 "Sundaj Chats;" describing Foreign Lands 
and Foreign Cities. 256 pages, fcap. .p.,. Profusely 
5*- 



Illustrated, Second Edition. 



Ci' 



sf.i.l Petter C- Galpin; Ludga e /In.! . London; Paris; and New York. 



• EX & Ga P k ' /'. . 



CHILDREN'S BOOKS— continued. 



Stories about Animals. By the Rev. T. 
Jackson, MA. a Familiar Description of the 
Life and Habits of the different varieties of the 

Animal World. Illustrated throughout. Third 
lion. Extra fcap. 4to ; cloth, 5s. 
Stories about Birds. By M. and E. Kirby. 

An interesting Account of the Life and Habits of 
the various descriptions of the Feathered Tribes. 
Illustrated throughout. Second Edition. Extra 
fcap. 4to, c'oth, 5s. 

Notable Shipwrecks. Being Tales of Disaster 

and Heroism at Sea. By "UNCLE Hardy." 
.:' Edition. 320 pp., crown 8vo, with Fron- 
tispiece. Cloth, 5s. 



The Child's Book of Song and Praise. 

With 250 Illustrations and 33 Pieces of Music, with 
Accompaniments. Cloth, 5s. ; cloth gilt, gilt edges, 
6s. 6d. 

Working to Win. A Story for Girls. By 
Maggie Symington. With Illustrations. Second 
Edition. Cloth gilt, 5s. 

-Robinson Crusoe. New Edition. With One 

Hundred Illustrations. Roval 8vo, cloth, 5s.; full 
gilt, 6s. 6d. 

Swis s Family Robinson . A 'nu Edition. W i th 

140 Illustrations and Coloured Frontispiece. Cloth 
plain, 5s.; full gilt, 6s. 6d. 



MISCELLANEOUS WORKS. 



Cas-ell's Family Magazine. A High-class 

Illustrated Family Magazine. Monthly, 7d. ; 
Yearly Vols., 9s. 

Chapters on Trees. A Popular Account of 
their Nature and Uses. By M. and E. K.IRBY, 
Authors of "Stories about Birds." Profusely Il- 
lustrated. 320 pp., extra crown 8vo, cloth gilt, 5s. 

Civil Service, Guide to Employment in 

the. New Edition. With an Introduction by 
J. D. Mokell, LL.D. Containing the New Re- 
gulations complete. Cloth, 2s. 6d. 

v^ivil Service, Guide to the Indian. By 

A. C. Ewald, F.S.A. New and Cheaper Edition. 
Cloth, 2s. 6d. 

Cobden Club Essays, Second Series. 

500 pages. Demy 8vo, cloth, 15s. Second Edition. 

Decorative Design, Principles of. By 
Christopher Dresser, Ph.D., F.L.S., &c. Il- 
lustrated with Two Coloured Plates and numerous 
Designs and Diagrams. Second Edition. Extra 
crown 4to, cloth gilt, 7s. 6d. 

Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, Brewer's : 

giving the Derivation, Source, or Origin of Common 
Phrases, Allusions, and Words that have a Tale to 
Tell. By the Rev. Dr. BREWER. New and Cheaper 
Edition. Demy 8vo, i.oco pp., cloth, 7s. 6d. 

Facts and Hints for Everyday I ife. A 

Comprehensive Book on Every Subject connected 
with the comforts of Home and the Health and 
prosperity of its Inmates. Second Edition. Cloth, 
2s. 6d. 

Local Government and Taxation. The 
Volume of Cobden Club Essays for 1875. 
Edited by J. W. Probyn. Cloth, 12s. 6d. 



Manners of Modern Society. A Compre- 
hensive Work on the Etiquette of the Present Day. 
Fourth Edition. Cloth gilt, 2s. 6d. 

North - West Passage by Land, The. 
By Lord Milton and Dr. Cheadle. Original 
Edition, demy 8vo, cloth, with Twenty-two full- 
page Illustrations and Two Maps, 21s. New and 
Cheaper Edition, crown 8vo, with Maps and Illus- 
trations, cloth, 2.s. 6d. 

Cur Children: How to Rear and Train 

Thern. A Manual for Parents, in the Physical, 
Educational, Religious, and Moral Training of 
their Children. Crown 8vo, cloth, 3s. 6d. 

Practical Poultry- Keeper, Th9. Eighth 

Edition. A Standard Guide to the Management of 
Poultry for Domestic Use, the Market, or Exhibi- 
tion. By L. Wright, With 48 Plain Illustrations. 
Cloth, 3s. 6d. ; or 36 Plain and 8 New Chromo 
Plates, 5s. 

Quiver, The. The Illustrated Magazine for 
Sunday Reading. Weekly, id. ; Monthly, 6d. ; and 
Yearly Volumes, 7s. 6d. 

Stock Exchange Year-Book, The. Edited 
by Thomas Skinner. Containing a careful Digest 
of all the Information relating to each of the Joint- 
Stock Companies and Public Securities known to the 
Markets of the United Kingdom of interest to 
Investors, with special Calendar and Diary. Cloth, 

Three Homes. A Tale for Fathers and Sons. 
By F. T. I-. HOPE. Second Edition. 400 pp., 

cloth, =;s- 



W The following CATALOGUES of GASSELL PETTER & GALPIN'S PUBLICATIONS l 

can be had from all Booksellers, or post free on application to the Publishers. 



CASSELL'S DESCRIPTIVE CATA- 
LOGUE!, containing a complete List of their 
various Works, including Bibles and Religious! ,itera 
lure, Children's Books, Dictionaries, Educational 
Worki . I ine Art Volumes,' 1 land-hooks and Guides, 
li • is, Natural History, Poetry, 

Travel . Seri ils, An 1 



CASSELL'S EDUCATIONAL CATA- 
LOGUE, containing a Description of their nume- 
rous Educational Works, &C, with a List of their 
Mathematical Instruments, Water-Colours, &c. 

CASSELL'S CLASSIFIED LIST, eon- 
taining a List of Books arranged according to their 
value, from 6d. upwards. 



ll Pettbr 6* Galpin : Ludgate Hill, Lonpcx : Paris; and .Yew York. 



(i • 






JUN 23 1902 



